Day 11, Cruising Tracy Arm to Juneau

This morning we cruised Tracy Arm which is one of the many fjords in southeastern Alaska. The cruise up the fjord was beautiful with steep rock walls and forested mountainsides lining the fjord. Along the way were many waterfalls, from small streams dropping into the fjord to larged falls tumbling down the mountainsides. At the end of the fjord were the twin Sawyer glaciers. We did not approach too closely but were able to see the glaciers.
After cruising back down the fjord, we made our way to Juneau. In Juneau we departed the ship for a trip to Mendenhall glacier in a light rain. It was very impressive, but the description of its receding (melting) was quite frightening. We then took a small boat to go whale hunting, during which the rain stopped. Soon after we started we encountered a group of about a dozen whales. We watched them moving along and feeding. We saw at least one whale breaching. Seeing these animals was thrilling. After leaving the group of whales we sailed on for a while and then encountered a mother whale and her calf. We watched them for a while during which the calf played in the kelp near shore. The mother soon joined the calf in its play. On the return trip, we saw a bunch of seals resting on a buoy. One seal in the water attempted to join the others on the buoy, but was not allowed to join them.