Ice!

One of my favorite activities during our trip was the zodiac cruises. Although we used the zodiacs as a taxi service to and from shore, there was something special about using them as means to get up close and personal to both scenery and wildlife. Our first longer zodiac cruise was at Burgerbukta. We puttered through huge floating chunks of ice and made our way closer to the massive glacier. Due to unpredictable calving, the guides made sure to keep a safe distance from the glacier itself. While we admired the ice, a curious bearded seal popped his head out of the water to check out what the commotion was. He made his way around our circle of zodiacs disappearing and reappearing multiple times. He wasn't shy at all and even with all of the cameras clicking away and oohing and awing he stayed close by until he decided we were boring and disappeared beneath the water for good. 

 
We made our way around the toe end of the glacier, feeling tiny in comparison. The sheer size of the wall of ice was overwhelming. Occasionally we would hear a thundering crack and everyone, eyes darting back and forth, would try to find the calving ice block. The echoing sounds made it difficult to predict just where the ice would crash from. I had seen lots of National Geographic photos of glaciers and icebergs, even visiting a few glaciers before, but I always thought the photos looked edited or enhanced in some way. The icy blue was just too brilliant to be real. But I was amazed at how that is really what the icebergs looked like. It was incredible. Of course my limited photography skills will never be able to capture the essence of a glacier, but I will never forget how those glassy blue jewels floating past me looked.