Midnight Sun

Midnight Sun

Have you ever seen the sunshine at midnight? Most of you will answer “No” and think that I am just kidding, but I am not. I once saw a midnight sun in a very far away land.
Once the cruise ship I worked on sailed to Alaska, South-east Alaska to be exact. Four places of interest we visited every week were Ketchikan, Juenau, Glacier Bay, and Sidka.
Alaska is the biggest state of the U.S and is located in the northwestern part of Nort America. During summer, wich lasts from June to Agust, the sun is “lazy” here. It “gets up” arounfd a half past seven in the morning and “goes to bed” late, around twelve midnight.
On the clear day I walked down a quiet street in Juneau around midnight, but I felt as if I was walking under the warm late afternoon sun of five o’clock that we usually enjoy here in Indonesia. It is unbelievable, isn’t it?
Near Juneau there is an eternal “river of ice”, wich has a grooved, extremely hard, and rough surface. It is called Menden hall Glacier. The ice on the tip of the glacier’s ‘tongue” frequently falls down to the stream below and breaks into pieces of white rocks. These big “ice rocks” that have irregular shapes, called icebergs, then fload away.
Glaciers and midnight sun are two natural phenomena that become Alaska’s favorite attractions. Once you see a midnight sun you will not forget it the rest of your life.

From: Midnight Sun and other stories Wishnubroto Widarso