Holland America MS Amsterdam Travelogue #3 Tracy Arm Fjord and Twin Sawyer Glaciers

Holland America MS Amsterdam Travelogue #3

Tracy Arm Fjord and Twin Sawyer Glaciers
May 30, 2011

We woke early Monday morning – Memorial Day – and began our day with room service bringing us some hot coffee. When we opened the curtains, there was not a cloud in the sky and the waters of Frederick Sound were calm and still; and the snow capped mountains reflected in the mirrored waters below. It was glorious! This is one of God’s Greatest Majesties! We “trekked the deck” for our Landon’s Rockin’ Walkers then went back to our room to grab the camera and we were off to the Crow’s Nest – the area up on the top deck with plate glass windows and nice chairs for viewing.

This area is a rich feeding ground for the humpback whales; and several showed up to say hello as we glided down the channel towards Tracy Arm Fjord and Sawyer Glaciers. The whales kept their distance from the ship; but every now and then we could see a tale as one would dive down to feed. The other passengers up in the Crow’s Nest had their binoculars out and ready to spot anything that surfaced. We were between Kuiu Island and Baranof Island in the Chatham Strait when we saw several whales. The waters remained completely calm with not even a ripple from a light breeze. As we passed The Brothers Islands more whales were spotted in the distance; but none ever came close enough to photograph.

As we entered Tracy Arm Fjord, the travel guide on the ship, Jeannette began her narration offering lots of information about the area’s history, geography, topography and wildlife. There were waterfalls everywhere you looked that were cascading down from hundreds of feet up the steep cliffs of the fjord. The striations on the cliffs (lines on the cliffs almost like the circles of a tree trunk) showed where the glaciers had been hundreds of years ago. Every so often an iceberg would float by indicating we were getting close to the Sawyer Glaciers.

It took almost 3 hours to cruise slowly back into the “S” curves of Tracy Arm where the glaciers were. The icebergs became thicker and thicker. Some were white and some were deep colors of blue and turquoise. The ice is so dense that it reflects everything except blue. Unfortunately, the ship’s Captain and pilot did not feel we could safely cruise any farther back than the last turn before you go right to the South Sawyer Glacier. We could see it off in the distance; and we were so close – but still so far away. The river of ice was too thick; and the Amsterdam slowly turned around and retraced our route through the fjord. We saw one baby harbor seal on a bergie bit resting peacefully as its mama swam around the edge keeping a watchful eye out for safety.

We talked with several different people out and about on deck during our time in Tracy Arm and enjoyed getting to know them. It is always interesting to hear their stories of coming to Alaska and where they are from. The passengers are from as far away as Holland and all over the lower 48 states and Hawaii.

Tomorrow is Tuesday and we will be in Juneau. Till then…