Prince William Sound – June 6, 2023

[Martin Hash]

Prince William Sound, in southern Alaska, was name in honor of England’s King George III’s son in 1778. It’s known primarily for it’s glaciers, which are toured on boats specifically refitted for the treacherous waters. Abundant wildlife is also a big draw. Our tour was 6 hours, 26 glaciers and a multitude of creatures in all, including lunch, and well worth it. Right off, we saw a humpback whale and her calf in the distance, and soon after that some Ball dolphins playing in the boat’s wake. It was common to see single and even dozens of sea otters together, called a raft, floating on their backs in the freezing water. Supposedly, their thick fur has over 1 million hairs per inch, more than all the hair on a German Shepard. There were seals lying on the floating ice, looking like out-of-place sausages. Visible streaks in the water behind the icebergs are due to the fresh water melting off that floats on top of the sea water. The glaciers advance at about 18” per day, which equates to new snow taking between 150 – 500 years to get to the ocean where it splinters into the water as chucks as large as automobiles, called “calving,” a Scandinavian word meaning to break off. Icebergs are translucent blue because that’s the only color of sunlight that can get through the clear ice.

Martin & Gwynne at Glacier.jpg

Gwynne & Martin at Glacier

Glaciers are one of those things that you’re tempted to think, “seen one, seen them all,” but I diligently tried to distinguish the finer glacial aspects; I’ve seen glaciers in Chile and Antarctica, Glacier National Park & on an Alaskan cruise, but Prince William Sound has the finest glaciers, the best according to my unsophisticated eyes. I watched the crew dip smaller chunks of glacial ice out of the water, crushed and used to make margaritas that they offered to us tourists. It has a distinct taste, making the experience even more unique..

Glacier Margarita c.jpg

Glacial Margarita