Breakfast is at 6am, which means we are up at 5:30…it hurts. It is, however, helped by the fact the sun is rising just after 4am. The further from the solstice and the further south we get, the darkness is increasing – around five hours a night now – not pitch black but dark enough.

Our early morning start is precipitated by our all day glacier boat cruise. Pretty much everyone does the cruise here. It’s run by the lodge and has a national park ranger on board. Cruising all the way up to the Grand Pacific and Marjorie glaciers, basically on the Canadian border, it passes through whale territory, past seal and puffin colonies, and weaves its way around otters – so many otters. They float along on their backs, sometimes with little babies, it’s hard to get close though as they are shy and dive down when the boat approaches. In one bay we see an otter raft, well, two otter rafts actually as they split by gender. It’s what otters do when they want to chill…they gather together and float. The rafts we saw had at least thirty otters. They are sooo cute…in the top five for sure!

The cruise is worthwhile and informative and it also includes snacks, sandwiches and drinks. If you have done the cruise in Resurrection Bay out of Seward, however, then you could potentially skip this one (depending on how much wildlife you see) they are fairly similar experiences, although this one is in much calmer waters and the Marjorie glacier is very big and impressive. Alaska has many tidewater glaciers you can visit and you need to get to at least one. The sheer scale of these ice rivers as they carve their way to the sea is a sight to behold. I didn’t appreciate the size of the Marjorie glacier until I saw one of the monster cruise ships next to it, well a quarter of a mile away and the ship was dwarfed. Distance needs to be maintained as the ice walls are not stable; the glacier is moving, calving large chunks of ice and dumping them in the surrounding waters. You know you’re getting close when the chunks are getting bigger. On this cruise we also had the pleasure of chatting to a couple from Seattle, although he was originally a Juneau native. It was interesting to hear a local perspective. Gordon enjoyed another of his deep and meaningfuls and chatted away for ages…we swapped details. So many friendly and interesting people on this trip.

The other main thing to do (apart from a few hikes) in Glacier Bay is to kayak. Our boat drops off one couple going out for five days and picks up two groups, one of ten people and another couple. The captain runs the boat up on the gravelly beach, drops down a ladder and then the crew form a chain to load and unload supplies. They are well practiced and get a mountain of gear on or off very quickly – I counted 25 bear canisters with one group. Kayaking here is an adventure I’m told, it looks very open to me, even with the snow capped mountains that ring the bay. But, you can paddle into the narrower sections where the cruise boats don’t go and there are plenty of camping options. There also lots of bears, we see two brown bears on the beaches from the safety of our boat.

The lodge is a hive of activity when we get back. It is a popular place for people camping and staying elsewhere in the area. We arrive for dinner at around 6:30 and the place is packed. We are told to come back at 8:15. The lesson here is to make a booking. You can buy accommodation and food packages and I would highly recommend that as there isn’t anywhere else to eat unless you have access to a car. It’s crazy that food isn’t just included. Supplies also frequently run out as they come by ferry and sometimes the ferry doesn’t come. A set menu or buffet might help. The al la carte menu is good but not gourmet, although they try. The young staff are friendly and helpful but are clearly overworked – pulling long shifts – we see the same people over and over and witness some tense interactions with managers. It’s in a wonderful location but at times feels like a crowded tourist spot rather than a wilderness lodge. The few couches by the fire are always full and there is no other common area. Wifi is only available in the lobby, which is fine, I’m surprised we had it at all but it’s woefully inadequate – only three or four people can connect at any time. You either stay in your room or try to squeeze on the couches. There is an outside deck, which is lovely if it’s warm or not raining. In some ways the lodge successfully manages all it’s visitors, the check in procedure for instance, but in many others the facilities are just inadequate. Overall though, it’s worth a visit for location alone.