Welcome to Southeast Alaska! All and sundry on the National Geographic Sea Bird started the foggy day with stretching, yoga, and smoothies on deck, as we prepared ourselves for hiking and kayaking adventures in BEAR country!
We landed on Chichagof Island in a cozy bay named Pavlof Harbor at the mouth of the creek. Hikers joined proficient naturalists single file into the vibrant green timberland of Sitka spruce and Western hemlocks to learn about the flora and fauna of the temperate rainforest. The stream was filled with unwavering salmon fighting their way up the current with the objective to procreate. Suddenly, two bears emerged from the dense brush, lunging and hurdling about in hopes of catching the determined fish.
As we continued to cruise around Chichagof Island we encountered impressively fluking humpback whales in the area of Iyoukeen. As we continued our pursuit of marine mammals, Linda Burback gave a comprehensive photo discussion complete with helpful adjustments to camera settings for close-up shots of wildlife.
Then, Gretchen Pederson, naturalist extraordinaire, lightened up our afternoon with background information on bears and shared her stories of family trips to see them in Alaska, along with detailed illustrated accounts of the viewings.
After a lively ice-breaking bingo game, Alberto Montaudon presented video footage from the undersea voyage of discovery, taken early this morning. Some fascinating creatures such as, the black sea cucumber, sunflower stars, giant plumose anemone, jellies, crescent gunnel, and kelp greenling.
Dinner ended with the commencement of orca and humpback whale feeding surrounding the ship. What a fantastic day in Alaska!
