Day 9: Ferry to Whittier, Portage Glacier & Seward
Trip Start
Jul 24, 2008
1
8
9
Trip End
Aug 08, 2008
Sewar, Alaska
Friday, August 1, 2008
On any of those ferries you can find a ranger looking for sea mammals and other wildlife. Once they see something interesting, they would notify the passengers about it, and you can see everybody gathering next to the windows (be sure to have your binoculars with you. You'll need them!). We had the chance to see all kind of sea mammals and sea birds, as well as tons of icebergs.
As we got closer to Whittier, we had the chance to get a good view of the huge city :-D - all 140 permanent residents of Wittier live in one building, very close to the port.
The only road connecting Whittier to civilization is through a tunnel, originally used for the railroad to Anchorage. Since this tunnel is too narrow for two lanes, they would only allow driving one direction at a time. At the hour vehicles can go from Whittier to Portage glacier, and at the half hour vehicles can go the opposite way.
We stopped at the Portage glacier visitor center, where you can find all kind of exhibits related to that spot. We also watched a movie describing the glacier. The gimmick is that as soon as the movie ends, the screen goes up, and behind it you discover a huuuuuuge window overlooking the glacier.
Our next stop was at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center, where they take care of abandoned animals or animals that were injured and brought there to recover. The thing is that since they easily get used to getting their food from people, not needing to look for it, they can't go back to wilderness.
After visiting the conservation center, we headed south towards Seward, where we chose to stay at the Alaska Paddle Inn, located at Lowell Point, about 3 miles south of downtown (meaning you'll need a vehicle in order to get there). This small place (two rooms only) is situated right at the waterfront, with a very large window facing the bay.
After settling in the place, and according to recommendations we got both on-line and from the owner, we went out for dinner at Ray's Waterfront, located at the small boat harbor. Food was good, but it was very pricey. Besides, it would be a good idea to make reservations for a table. We didn't, and we had to wait for about an hour before we were seated at a table.
