Byron Glacier.

On returning to Portage Lake, we have time to eat our buns before joining a one-hour cruise exploring the lake on the Ptarmigan. The boat circles a huge iceberg that calved yesterday before approaching the glacier from which it was formed.

Portage Glacier commences in the Carpathian Mountains at an altitude of 6,000-feet. It has a face on the lake that is 250-feet above the water and 1-mile wide. The Ptarmigan  cruises in front of the glacier enabling us to admire its fantastically carved face.

Fishermen trying their luck on the gravel banks of Resurrection Creek, Hope.

Thirty-nine miles from Portage via the Seward and Hope Highways is the small community of Hope (above). We buy ice creams at the general store and stamps at the post office as we wander round the wide, empty streets.

 

We then drive on to Seward, which we reach at 6:50pm, and check-in to the Best Western hotel. Driving into the nearby Kenai Fjords National Park, we get distant views of Exit Glacier, before returning to Seward to eat at a Greek/Italian/seafood restaurant called Apollos.

 

The Greatland, which takes us on a 110-mile, 9-hour cruise of

Resurrection Bay and Holgate Arm, via Fox Island.

Seward is the third busiest fishing port in Alaska. The large volume of fish brought in results in the production of a considerable amount of fish waste which the local seagull population (plus a bald eagle - right) is consuming as we leave the harbour.

Lunch is taken at Fox Island where we are joined by a fellow passenger, Yvonne.

A sea otter appears to enjoy amusing tourists.

Cape Aialik.

Today, we have almost 16½-hours of daylight in which to enjoy the cruise with the benefit of the excellent weather. Our previous cruise on Prince William Sound was notable not only for the fine weather, but also for the magnificent scenery and the abundant wildlife. The fact that we were in the almost enclosed area of a sound, and the horizon on all sides was, therefore, full of mountains, added to the scenic beauty of the trip. By comparison, today's cruise in the Kenai Fjords National Park takes us through the more 'open' waters of the Gulf of Alaska. But it is another day when we get to view a variety of wildlife: gulls; bald eagles; sea otters; harbour seals; tufted puffins; silver salmon; common murres; Dall's porpoise; a storm petrel; orcas; and humpback whales.