Glaucous-winged Gulls were just standing, could not do anything...stuck with a mouthful of starfish.
The long wonderful trip ended. Since I wanted to make sure that it wasn't a dream, I made a book on this trip as a memory. Thank you Steve and MC for this great and wonderful trip!
We joined the Orca watching tour for three to four hours in Vancouver. Orcas were swimming really close to an island and I noticed that male's dorsal fin was as tall as a man on the shore.
Synchronized jump just like a show in some sea world amusement parks. Even the naturalist on the boat said that she had never seen anything like that. 母の行動力に大感謝。満足のオルカツアーだった。 こんな機会はそうないんだからと申し込めるところが、やっぱりシャカイジンは強い。
The last sailing day on ms Statendam, the captain announced us that we might be able to see Orcas around 20:30 that evening. Many passengers took their dinner earlier than usual and came out on the deck. Watching with a hundred's of eyes we couldn't find Orcas. There was no sign of them.
It was getting dark and people left the deck one after another.
But you need to be a little more patient...
to see wildlife. An hour later than the expected time, when the sun had completely set, after everybody gone back to their cabins, they appeared. They were swimming far away, but I recognized that they were Orcas because of their straight dorsal fins.
Salmonberry(Rubus spectabilis) Wild berries were just ready to eat. 道端にたわわに実る木いちご類。ちょっと庭から摘んで来られたら、日々、幸せになれそうだ。小さな町の本屋にも、アラスカ・ベリー図鑑がたいていあった。 バンクーバーのスーパーでは、熟れすぎたラズベリーが1パック大盛りで1ドルちょっと、ブラックベリーが2ドルくらい。地元の人の感覚では木いちごなんて、買うものではないのかもしれない。わたしは旅行で不足しがちなビタミン補給にと、ひたすらベリーを食べていた。
Whale Watching is one of the most popular activities in coastal Alaska. Of course we joined one of them and enjoyed Humpback Whales blowing, showing their flukes and also bubble netting at a very close distance. Most of the whales in Juneau are already identified by their flukes and each one has an ID. This one looks like 1538.
Steller Sea Lions and a Bald Eagle on a buoy. (ブイにのるトドとハクトウワシ)
But for me, watching far away whales from the top deck of our ship Statendam at dusk that day was much more memorable. Because they were the ones which we found by ourselves. The splash from their flukes was shining in the sunset. The wind was getting chilly and our shadows fading away.
White Pass & Yukon Route ゴールドラッシュの頃、スキャグウェイとカナダのユーコン準州のホワイト・ホース間を運行していた鉄道だ。今は完全に観光用の列車として走っている。帰ってからスイスの氷河特急のニュースを聞き、ちょっと青くなった。この列車も崖っぷちと渓谷にかかる細い橋を幾度も通った。
Dwarf Dogwood(Cornus canadensis) A subalpine species in Japan was found along the White Pass & Yukon Route around 500 meters above sea level. ゴゼンタチバナ。Cornus・・・・・・ミズキ科なんだ! At a book store in the town of Skagway, I met Mr. Michael Klensch, a photographer. In his newly published aurora book, there is a beautiful description about Skagway in winter time. "The hustle and bustle of summer tourist season is replaced with short, crisp quiet days and long nights illuminated by frequent auroras." The scenery must be a treat only for those who endure severe winter and it's not something everyone can enjoy.
ミツユビカモメ(Black-legged Kittiwake) Glacier Bay National Park was the best place with a lot of sea birds and Sea otters. The water was compose blue because of the rock flour ground by glacier and stays suspended in the water. When the light comes into the water, rock flour absorbs other colors and leaving only blue light.