There was this road that seemed to going right to this glacier finger. Other cars were braving it, so....well, it wasn’t easy (don’t tell Hertz), but we made it. It occured to me 1/2 way in that I don’t know if this car even has a spare...but at the end, we got up close to this glacier!
The lake at the bottom wasn’t that glacier blue I expected, but it sure was beautiful!
And this was just the warm up (so to speak)! What came next blew me away.
And this was just the warm up (so to speak)! What came next blew me away.
We got to Glacier Bay just in time for the last tour of the day, which they almost canceled because of the high wind. And windy it was! We had stopped at another place for a boat tour, but they had already canceled their tours...and just getting from their building back to our car was a challenge! One of those adventures where we hang onto each other and 1/2 walk, 1/2 fly, laughing all the way!
So now, suited up, 10 of us climb into this inflatable from a floating dock that is pitching on the wavy water! They have to hold the iceburgs away, as the dock is on the downwind side of the lake from the glacier!
After a hair raising ride (George was even screaming) to the glacier end of the lake in what had to be 30 knott wind and waves of 1-2 feet, we finally get to the sheltered water area up close to the glacier. Here we can slowly (and carefully) tour around from iceburg to iceburg,
After a hair raising ride (George was even screaming) to the glacier end of the lake in what had to be 30 knott wind and waves of 1-2 feet, we finally get to the sheltered water area up close to the glacier. Here we can slowly (and carefully) tour around from iceburg to iceburg,
Doesn’t this one look like a bunny?
These clear blue ones were the ones our guide got the most excited about. The advantage to these windy days is that a burg sometimes flips over. It’s then solid ice, before the surface starts melting. After a few hours, the top texture is more like a slushy. A big burg melts in a week or so in the 4 celsius salt water. I can attest to the salt...We in the front of the boat got a few waves in the face!
Back at shore...even though the 1 hour ride was exhilarating and beautiful, I felt like kissing the ground! George got just a little seasick!
Back at shore...even though the 1 hour ride was exhilarating and beautiful, I felt like kissing the ground! George got just a little seasick!
And, finally, our home for the night. It’s a hotel facing yet another arm of the glacier above H15. It’s out in the plain, so the wind is relentless. We’re not sure if we’ll leave our window open tonight as we have so far!
After unpacking (which for me consists of putting my toilet kit in the bathroom), we drove to the nearest town (25 minutes) Hofn for dinner. Hofn (pronounced Hurpp) is a sea port, and is known as ‘The lobster capital of Northern Europe’. What they have is langoustine, a smaller cousin of our lobster. Since everything here is SO expensive, menues we looked at started at about $40pp. Since neither of us was particularly hungry, we settled on langoustine pizza! It was very good, and much more reasonable.
After unpacking (which for me consists of putting my toilet kit in the bathroom), we drove to the nearest town (25 minutes) Hofn for dinner. Hofn (pronounced Hurpp) is a sea port, and is known as ‘The lobster capital of Northern Europe’. What they have is langoustine, a smaller cousin of our lobster. Since everything here is SO expensive, menues we looked at started at about $40pp. Since neither of us was particularly hungry, we settled on langoustine pizza! It was very good, and much more reasonable.
Now, it’s 11:45 and George is snoring next to me as I finish up.
Tomorrow we’re planning on starting our day at the local pool for a dip and a soak. This, from what I understand, is an indispensable part of Icelandic life, so we’re going local!
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