Miraculously, our last full day of the cruise dawned with clear blue skies as we lay at anchor just outside Scenery Cove. (There’s nothing subtle about some of the names out here, although to be honest the scenery outside the bay is plenty scenic also.) As per our now customary routine, we awoke early for first breakfast, followed by stretching in the Barn with Kira (a necessary precaution given how much unaccustomed work we are asking from our bodies). The Barn is an enclosed area on the topmost deck that houses exercise machinery and recreational equipment of all sorts. The windows were briefly clear while all the wetsuits were loaned out, but now they hang in their rows again making a sort of screen through which glimpse of mountains occasionally peek through.

Today was the second opportunity to take an all-day outing, and we were eager to sign up. Our itinerary took us on a kayak tour of Scenery Cove, followed by a journey several miles up Thomas Bay to the mouth of Baird Glacier. The glacier has deposited a large terminal moraine here that stretches across the valley. The right side of this stony ridge has been breached by a river of meltwater flowing into the sea. The current is so strong that our approach had to be timed to coincide with the incoming tide in order to give us a chance of making way against it.

We beached our kayaks on the stony shore and hiked up the moraine (tough going due to the large round rocks, which had a tendency to roll underfoot unless one steps very carefully), admiring the wildflowers and other greenery that was in the process of establishing itself there. Beyond the ridge is a lagoon filled with a brackish mixture of glacial melt and seawater. Enormous icebergs lie jumbled there, some floating but others so large that they are grounded except at the highest of tides. We stopped to eat our lunch on the high ground above this otherworldly tableau. Others from our group had opted for a skiff tour instead of a kayak, and they had the opportunity to thread the shifting channels of this icy maze to get a closeup view of the glacier’s face beyond and the deep blues of the icebergs up close.

The return trip was a reverse of the journey out: we paddled back to the ship, and when we arrived they said we had time to take another spin around Scenery Cove. Since this would be our last chance to kayak in Alaska, of course we seized the opportunity. When we did finally land our craft on the Sea Dragon, we found mulled wine and double chocolate cookies waiting for us on board.

Our last supper on board was the Captain’s dinner, offering prime rib and sockeye salmon. In lieu of a lecture, the crew put together a slide show of pictures taken by the guides all week. It all went by so fast! As we sailed into the sunset, whales were once again diving beside the ship.