All that ice ... where is the whiskey?

Another day where superlatives will be bandied about.  An early start for a long day.  We had to meet at the Kayak Adventures Worldwide office at 7.15am.  We were kitted up with lifejackets and checked we had enough layers as the day was going to be drizzly the whole day.  We boarded the water taxi with a dozen other people who were also on kayaking trips with other guides.

As James was 12 we had a guide all to ourselves - Angie ( now I've got that song stuck in your head too). The water taxi ride took over two hours to get to the launch point but along the way we were also wildlife watching - we stopped for everything.  Wild life count - Bald eagle - check; otters - check; harbour seal- check; Dall's Porpoise - check, sea lion - check; puffins- check; wild goats - check; and several whales - check.  Photography was not the easiest due to rain and fogging so please forgive some of the examples!

We embarked on our kayaking from a pebble beach near Slate Island a few miles from Aialik Glacier.      

This is a tidal glacier arising in the Harding Ice-field  with a face of 1.2miles, but looks can be deceiving. James and Andrew were in one kayak whilst I was with Angie.

The pace was leisurely but steady and we made our way through small icebergs all calling out for whiskey to join them.  We hung around the base of the glacier listening to the calving and occasionally seeing it while being watched by the many harbour seals curious to see who had invaded their territory.

 Our kayaks joined together and Angie produced sandwiches (roast beef, lettuce and tomato) and hot chocolate with us watching the magical scenery.  We turned around to come back and returned via the other side of Slate Island.  We arrived back after 4hrs to have just missed out on seeing a bear at the beach - oh well we will get our chance in a couple of days.  We loaded our gear back onto the taxi and rode back via a few more whales and some rough seas.  Having said that, whilst the weather was drizzly and cold the whole day we did not notice it when kayaking - we were bundled up and had great waterproofs.  The taxi is heated so we warmed up well for the trip home, arriving at Seward at 5.30pm.

We were all tired at the end of the day and Thai take away was recommended by the guides - Woodies ( authentic Thai name) - plenty of tasty food.