Friday, July 13

Friday we awoke to small pieces of ice floating by outside our window. As we proceeded, the ice pieces got larger. Ron later learned that it's a rule on this ship that the captain is awakened as soon as ice is sighted. This type of fog is called "witch's mist".

We were headed for Dawes Glacier. After breakfast we went out in skiffs and got as far as half a mile from the face of the glacier. Our skiff pilot said that another tour boat once decided to go ¼ mile from it and when the glacier calved (chunks of ice breaking off), there were injuries on board the boat, including one person whose leg was broken by flying ice. Calving was impressive- a loud rumble followed by chunks of ice falling into the water, a massive splash, and the waves hitting your boat a few minutes later.

The afternoon was devoted to skiff tours of Ford's Terror, a hidden-away fjord with awe-inspiring waterfalls coming down from mountains hundreds of feet above. Because of the diurnal (twice a day), swiftly-changing tides which give the fjord its name, they can't always get skiffs into the area and the skiff pilot was as excited as we were to be able to see her favorite waterfall. It's really hard to get across just how huge and awe-inspiring these formations can be. The two rocks above, which obvously formed from a fissure, were the size of multi-story buildings. Our guide on the glacier trip said that one passenger she'd had, a British geologist, told her, "these rocks have been tortured!"

Friday night's dinner, Steak Oscar, was served at the table rather than a buffet, and included farewell announcements , but no one dressed any fancier than the nights before. We were glad since we hadn't brought anything fancy!