Whale Watching in Juneau

Coming into port in Juneau.

The Noordam from the shore.

The port square.

One of the beautiful new totem poles.

I channel marker with 'critters'.

How do they get up there?

The twin sister of our boat.

A fluke as the whale dives.

Two humpbacks.

And their flukes.

The whale watching harbour.

Wednesday, August 9^th.

At nine this morning we arrived at Juneau, Alaska. Juneau is the capital city of Alaska. It is unique among the 49 U.S. capitals on mainland North America in that there are no roads connecting the city to the rest of the state or North America. This is due to the extremely rugged terrain surrounding the city. Although the city is not on an island it might as well be in terms of transportation, since all goods coming in and out must arrive by plane or boat, despite the city's location on the Alaskan mainland. It has a population of 32000 people and swells by 6000 tourists arriving on cruise ships every day during the summer months. The main tourist activity here is whale watching. There are so many whales here and the companies are so sure they will find them, that they will give you a $100 cash refund if they don’t. The boats are of various sizes and have different options, but I chose a small boat with only 20 passengers. We took a half hour bus ride to the whale watching port and an hour boat trip on a very quick launch. We had heard that there was a major flood in Juneau caused by melt water leaking out of a containment basin and rushing down a river washing away many trees and several houses. I asked about it and was told although it was awful for the people, who owned the houses, the only evidence to be seen was some debris and a few trees floating in the bay. We were one of the first boats out and when we got to where the tides squeeze between two islands sure enough there were numerous humpbacks around. We saw several blows, and then a few backs and flukes (tails) as the whales surfaced, breathed, and then dived again to find fish. The humpbacks stay in the area all summer feasting on the food here before they migrate to Hawaii where they give birth to the next generation. They don’t feed there as there is little nutrients in the water to feed the krill that feed the fish that they eat. They return the next spring and bulk up again. We saw a couple of females with calves and probably about ten different whales in total. Just after the guide told us it was time to leave, and we put our cameras down a whale breached nearby! None of us got a shot and most of us just saw the whale sink back in with a splash… argh! No one really knows why they breach but they do know that it is more common in Hawaii and less so in Alaska. So, it was rare, and we missed it. I have been on several whale watching trips in the past and always find them somewhat frustrating as you usually only see small portions of the whole animal, but today was better than most trips. When we got back it began drizzling more. I spent some time wandering around the dock area before getting back on board the ship. Juneau like Ketchikan is crowded tight to the sea by the surrounding mountains. Both cities have built extensions to their shoreline consisting of piers and walkways/roadways that are above the water in order to enhance their ability to accommodate the huge cruise ships. I ordered a special meal for dinner. It was a seafood boil, consisting of clams, mussels, shrimp, salmon and crab legs in a pot of soup with potato and a cob of corn. It also came with a bowl of clam chowder. I had a quiet evening reading and listening to music in my room.