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Day three due to dock Juneau 2pm
We woke to a much nicer day, the clouds had lifted and we could see snow and glacier topped mountains. The sun was trying to break through with limited success.
Before breakfast we watched some whales a little way off making good time heading south as we continue heading north. It's not too warm so think they're the smarter ones :-)
We checked out some other parts of the ship like the observation lounge (snug and warm) and the outside observation deck on the bow which was far from snug or warm but the views were pretty good. We spent much of the morning and early arvo braving the cold to watch whales and gorgeous scenery go by.
Here and there we passed the odd house nestled in the trees and even the occasional multi dwelling settlement. There is a visible power line running along in the trees above the water line.
Juneau isn't exactly huge, lots of the usual jewellery shops, t shirt places & tour touts. We raided the t shirt shop for a few t's, a warm jacket & hoodie for me. The hoodie I got in Lake Louise is now Pete's :-)
Pete went back to drop off our booty while I waited for our tour which was close to leaving. We all loaded into the bus for the trip out to the Mendenhall Glacier via a town tour of Juneau. That filled in a couple of minutes lol
We heard that in Juneau they have approx 44 days a year when it is sunny and not raining. We were fortunate enough to hit town on one of those rare days.
We got geared up at Mendenhall Lake, very stylish bright yellow pants with suspenders and wellies. Everyone got teamed up with a crew member and assigned a small boat. Most are hard shell boats designed for the crew member to row and everyone sits on wooden seats. Somehow we got assigned the one boat, a soft raft, where everyone rows. It was pretty cold so actually rowing helped to keep warm. We passed the glacier and into the Mendenhall River. We took over an hour to go down the river and it was a lot of fun. It wasn't exactly wild rapids but there were some pretty bumpy spots which were great fun. We passed junkyard corner which still has the remains of a lot of junked cars which were used to reinforce the river banks back in the 60's. The river has clearly eroded over time with many of the riverside houses slowly losing their land. Some verandas were seriously undermined; a few were slowly falling into the river while others were propped up with concrete blocks or whatever was at hand.
As we rounded a bend we spotted a pair of bald eagles right down at the water line. One had a fish it was intent on consuming while the other was just perched in a bit of driftwood nearby awaiting a passing fish. We were so close it was amazing. Not too much further along we saw another pair high up in a tree then a single bird also high up in the tree. To bring the total we saw today to six there was another on a light pole as we headed back into town. A top day for eagle spotting :-)
All too soon the fun rafting trip was over and we were back on dry land. Our feet were frozen as we'd taken in some water along the way and it had somehow gotten into our boots. Unlike everyone else we'd brought dry socks so they were fantastic to change into :-)
There were some Alaskan snacks waiting for us, warm cider, crackers, salmon dip, cheese and reindeer sausages. We can absolutely recommend the reindeer sausages and cider.
A bus ride back and we checked out a few stores in Juneau, I was hoping to find some bargain leather jackets which I did but either not to my liking or not in my size :-( ah well, there's two more ports which are also closing for the season and trying to clear inventory coming up.
We got back on board kind of late so went for dinner in the restaurant, just the two of us this time.
Back in our cabin I was checking the sky and was sure I could see a faint tinge of green, more northern lights?
We went up to the front of the ship at about half midnight looking in case we could indeed see the northern lights again. It was freezing cold! We saw a small display, just green bands of light, no swirls. It was a bit cloudy but the glow was unmistakable. Pete got a few ok pics but an hour or so of watching was all I could take in the cold despite wearing a few layers.
We finally got to bed sometime after 3am.
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