I didn't see that coming.
Sunday, we set out right on schedule for our boat trip, checked in with no issues, and were the second people on the boat. We departed at the proper time, gently cruised out of the harbor on glassy water, and then picked up steam crossing the bay. Then, about 90 minutes later, after sightings of Bald Eagle, porpoises, and orcas, one of the boat's two engines died.
Now, I'd like to say that it went down like this:
Boom! The engine exploded into a huge ball of flames! The boat rocked forward, then backward, then heaved dramatically to the left...we were taking on water! Automatic life support systems caused life rafts to deploy! Passengers were tossed life vests and the Captain shouted, "Prepare for the worst!" But, then! Lo! A pair of whales breached right behind the boat! Their splash put out the fire! And -- believe it or not -- the whales then nudged the boat forward, and then pushed us all the way back to the harbor. True, 'dat.
Actually, we just limped back to the harbor on one engine, and the boat company offered to fully refund everybody or rebook on a different day. We opted to rebook for Monday, and gave it one more shot yesterday.
Man, was that a good choice!
The weather was nearly perfect, with blue skies and sun all day. We saw incredible scenery, had about 15 minutes of watching a Humpback Whale repeatedly breach and slap its tail, got up-close and personal with a glacier, and added 3 life/year birds. Fortunately, a birding tour group happened to be taking the same boat, so we were also in proximity to two expert guides to help with Bird ID, and the captain went out of his way to pull up next to places that were known to be good for birds.
If you ever find yourself in Seward, I highly recommend a trip with Kenai Fjords Tours. The captain was great, the boat was comfortable (although the food could have been improved), and when something went wrong, they did a perfect job of customer service.
So, in the immortal words of The OG William Shakespeare, all's well that ends well!
We're finally headed home today, with only a few days for work, laundry, and cleaning cobwebs off the walls before embarking on our next journey: a short trip to Tucson to find some weird-ass hummingbirds and a rare visitor from Mexico called a Tufted Flycatcher!
Hasta la vista,
Me
 |
| Dall's Porpoise. It was completely underwater and swimming alongside the boat, so you can see how glassy the water was at that time. |
 |
| Northwest Glacier |
 |
| Momma sea otter with pup |
 |
| Parakeet Auklet! |
 |
| Thick-billed Murre! Like the Common Murres we see in Cali, but note the blacker color; thick, almost raven-like bill; and white line on the side of the bill. |
 |
| Look! It's Humpy the Humpback Whale doing the Tootsie Roll! |
No comments:
Post a Comment