Day 6: Seward and Kenai Fjords boat tour

Kenai Fjords National Park is spectacular! We spent the day on a boat touring through the bays and inlets, seeing all kinds of wildlife. The boat tour started at 11:30, but we actually didn't get motoring until noon because the train from Anchorage with half of the passengers was delayed after hitting a moose. This is the boat we toured with.









Some of the highlights included the marine animals we saw, including: sea otters, orcas, sea lions, seals and hump back whales. These orcas were in a matrilineal pod of about 7 who were cruising along and occasionally breaching!








We also saw lots of different birds: puffins, black legged kittiwakes, bald eagles, loons, cormorants and others that we weren't sure of their names. While at the Holgate glacier we saw Dahl sheep too. The day was overall wet and cold, with some rain and continuously shifting fog. We were happy to duck inside the boat whenever the boat speed picked up, but then quickly rushed outside whenever there were animals to see! This picture shows the amazing views of the coastal mountains which were lush and green.














After landing in Seward and going back to the hotel for showers, we stayed in the neighborhood for a dinner of Italian inspired foods: Cioppino (Kristina's favorite), Halibut in phyllo with lobster sauce (Pete took this recommendation from the waiter as his favorite dish - it was rich), Salmon Lombardi (Bill selected this after confirming he liked feta cheese), and a veggie pizza (for Patty). We waddled back to the hotel a block away after eating all this rich food.