Alaska -- Juneau

Juneau, Alaska

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August 1, 2000
Juneau, Alaska
At 12:44pm on day 4, we docked at the Cruise Terminal in Juneau, Alaska. Juneau is unique in that it can only be reached via ship or plane. No roads come in to or go out of Juneau.

Since we arrived early, I was able to do an additional excursion. The Mendenhall Glacier is only about 15-20 minutes from downtown Juneau.

My "main" excursion out of Juneau was a whale-watching tour on Orca Enterprises.

I usually try to limit the number of pictures on a page, but for the next couple of pages, that will be difficult. There were so many wonderful photo opportunities. To the left is a lighthouse that has not been automated. We were told that it would not be upgraded but had been sold to someone who was going to make a bed and breakfast out of it -- the only access to the island is via helicopter or boat.

Lighthouse on Island off the coast of Alaska near Juneau

There were two pods of Humpback whales of about 6 or 7 whales each. For a bit, these two pods merged for feeding (see below).

Several whales with mountains in background

Below are photos of the whales "bubble-net feeding." This is where the whales will blow bubbles around fish or krill that they want to eat. The bubbles form a net around the fish and keep them together while the whales come up through the fish with mouths wide open. The water drains through leaving just their lunch. (My page from Massachusetts shows one Humpback performing this function.)

Below are photos of the pods just swimming around.

Whales swimming with mountains and sailboat in background

We saw more than just whales on this excursion. We heard there was a sea otter nearby, so we went "in search of" and found it.

Next stop was Skagway. Click here to continue with the trip.