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On the day that we sailed into Woodfjorden, the weather was glorious--warm, sunny, blue skies. And the sea was like glass--so calm that the Captain and the Expedition Leader decided that they could launch the kayaks as well as show passengers around by Zodiac.
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At the head of Woodfjorden is Monaco Glacier. Where the ship is anchored is actually shown on the charts as being many feet into the glacier. But the glacier has retreated so much in the last few years that the two glaciers that used to be tributaries of Monaco now empty separately into the fjord and are two separate glaciers (one with no name yet); the dark line is the space between the now-two glaciers.
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Chuck and Pat chose to go out on the Zodiacs, which could get quite close to the glacier face.
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Other, more ambitious passengers enjoyed the chance to do some kayaking. |
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Everyone, though, enjoyed the chance to have a little hot chocolate on the water. Peppermint schnapps was optional but widely accepted.
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We had a chance to examine some of the blue ice that has calved off the glacier. |
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Birds, including terns, kittiwakes, and the occasional ivory gull, rested on the ice and didn't seem very concerned by us.
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Large numbers of them were feeding where a stream of melt water from the glacier poured into the sea, stirring up food.
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The alternating sun and cold of the area melts the ice into bizarre shapes. |
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The lovely deep blue of the ice isn't a reflection of the sun or the sea--it is caused by the highly compressed ice crystals from the weight of the snow on the glacier.
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The magic mushroom. |
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| After the outing was over, there were hot dogs and beer on deck. It was so warm (almost 50°) that many people were in shirtsleeves and light jackets. How our usual feelings about cold and hot had changed in a week! |
We took one last look at Monaco and the unnamed glacier as we left. |
