巡航の話の本部

Stジョンズのトランク湾、ハワイの火山国立公園、メキシコのMarigalanteの海賊ボート、サンファンのナイトクラブ、アカプルコの崖のダイビング、等のスノーケリングを含む私達の巡航の脱線すべての、最もよいのの勝者はJuneau、アラスカのMendenhallの氷河ヘリコプター旅行にすべての時間の脱線行く。

私達はバンクーバーからのSewardにRotterdamの私達の1993年の巡航の間にこのすばらしい脱線を経験した。 私達の第2港はアラスカの首都、Juneauだった。 私達はその当時ぶんぶん言う音がこれは逃されないべき旅行だったことだったのでMendenhallの氷河ヘリコプター旅行を選んだ。 実際の旅行は約2だけであるまたは一突きからの3時間は埠頭で落ちるまで、従ってショッピングをするか、またはあなたの脱線の前か後にJuneauの州博物館を訪問する沢山の時間を有する。

旅行の会社は変えられたスクールバスの私達を選び、空港に運転した。 乗車の間に旅行の会社の代表は彼女がヘリコプターの重量の限界へ均等にない分布する4のグループの私達に一致できるのは私達の重量を降ろしからである。 私達が空港で会社の設備で着いたら、私達は雪または氷のブーツと合い、待っている区域に私達のヘリコプターに割り当てられた。 一度私達のヘリコプターの上に私達は私達のヘッドホーンを置き、離れた。 アラスカの巨大な美はすべての方向で広がった。 私達は間隔の山そして島もの氷河湖、中の道、何百、および当然Mendenhallの氷河を見ることができる。

ヘリコプターは氷河の滑らかな点に乗客、土地を連れて行き、次に乗客がガイドが付いている氷河を探検することを可能にする。 彼らは氷河が氷の非常にゆっくり動く川のようであることを説明した。 Like a river that has waterfalls, rapids and smooth waters, so too does a glacier have similar areas of ice. The helicopter lands on of of those smooth areas of ice. The tour guides have marked the visitors areas with ropes so that they do not wander out of the safe areas. They also warn visitors that some of the cracks in the ice are over 100 feet deep and that they only have a 50 foot rope. Just a friendly reminder to stay safe and not venture to close to the crevices.

While exploring the glacier, we were struck by the beautiful deep blue color of the cracked ice. The surface of the ice is rough and less dense so it reflects the white light. However, in the cracks and crevices, the ice is very dense and thick and only reflects back the blue light. We peeked into a couple of the cracks and got to enjoy the details of some of the glacier that can only be seen by walking on the surface. The streams of melting water flowing across the glacier and then flowing down into deep crevices can really only be appreciated up close.

During our walk on the glacier, our helicopter went back to the airport and picked up another group of passengers. Upon the return of the helicopter to the glacier, we re-boarded our helicopter and got to see the more of the glacier from the air. We flew all the way up the valley down which the glacier travels. Along the way, we were treated to spectacular water falls flowing down the sides of the glacier and the surrounding mountains. We saw many small lakes formed along the sides of the glacier, sharp mountains, and even a few mountain goats seemingly hanging precariously on the cliffs. At the top of the mountain we saw the vast white horizon of the Juneau Ice Field. This was some of the most breathtaking scenery in the world.

The only draw back of this excursion is the cost. Back in 1993 we paid about $190 per person. Prices for this excursion now run about $250 or more per person. We would have really liked to do this excursion again with our kids, but at over $1000 for our family of 4, the cost exceeded our entire excursion budget. However, if you can afford the price tag for this excursion, it is worth spending even your entire excursion budget on this one trip. This is a trip that every one should try to do once in a lifetime.

Categories: Destinations, Features, My Travel, Reviews
Tags: Alaska Cruises, cruise excursions, Glacier, Helicopter, helicopter tour, Juneau, juneau alaska, Mendenhall, mendenhall glacier, ms Rotterdam, rotterdam cruise, shore excursions