College Fjord

Most cruises depart earlier than Coral Princess, and most first mornings are at sea. Meaning if you look at the horizon from an upper deck, you can see a complete unbroken circle and nothing else.

Waking suddenly the first morning and knowing we were to be in College Fjord, not docking but enjoying the scenic views, I felt immediately that we were stopped. Getting up and peeling back the drapes, I saw my first glacier. More blue than white, striped with dusty color in several areas.

I always pictured a glacier as a frozen mountain, but I immediately saw a frozen river. The colors, the sounds, the sights of this entire portion of the trip are etched in my memory as solidly as the images are saved in various places on various media. Something I will never forget.

A poem:

ALYESKA
When visiting Alaska you learn more about Aleuts than Eskimos,
Starting with the Aleut word 'Alyeska,' the name of the state.
These people called this country 'Great Country'
Which certainly is a name that lasts because it is a name that fits.