By Room service again! The days are starting to blur. I’m going to have to pull out the schedules (placed lovingly on my bed each night) and make some updates if I missed anything!
We held off the rain as long as possible. It is now here in Juneau. It is cold and grey and drizzly. Apparently this is typical Alaskan weather. I didn’t mind at first (and figured the whales might prefer this to sunshine), but by the end of the morning I was absolutely SOAKED.
Today is the whale watching excursion. I loved it. I didn’t love it. The whales cooperated with quite a few displays…but the cold rain was a bit much and the jockeying for position on the top deck wasn’t great. They packed us onto the boat (can I say it – like sardines). I would have preferred less people and a smaller boat. I did see some…fools…in kayaks watching whales. That’s just stupid. That whale could land on top of them and then they’d be swimming with the fishes (I’m here all week).
What I learned from whale watching is that is only by pure dumb luck that you’ll get a picture. I have lots of pictures of the splash after they’ve gone back under. I did manage to get lucky on a few (and I had someone share a few pics that the captain had taken). Eventually I gave up and just enjoyed what I saw with my own eyes. The crew was magnificent – explaining a lot about whales. I felt bad chasing them down. There are rules of engagement (stay 100 yards away, can only stick around for 30 minutes, etc.) that should keep the whales from being stressed out.
The great news is that we got to see Sasha and her calf ChaCha. They are local whale celebrities. And though humpbacks normally don’t hang out together, we found an association (not pod) of whales having fun swimming and leaping around in the rain.
The excursion concluded with a drive-by of stellar sea lions hanging out on a buoy and growling at each other.
I was soaked as I returned to the boat. There was a massive Royal Caribbean boat (Anthem of the Sea) as well as a teeny Nat Geo boat (Lindeman) in the harbor. Compared to those two, the Explorer was just the right size.
Even though I was drenched, it was time to eat again. Lunch was in the buffet. Tonight I had the pleasure of eating in Pacific Rim, the Asian restaurant. The sashimi appetizer was great. My main course, Thai Red Curry chicken was too spicy for me. I like spicy food…but I asked them to make it mild to be safe. Their definition of mild and my definition are clearly not the same!
We’re coming close to the end of the cruise! Next port is Ketchikan.
