The National Geographic Sea Bird sailed north throughout the night and this morning she entered Idaho Inlet, located on the northern portion of Chichagof Island; we anchored near the entrance of the inlet, just off Fox Creek and prepared for a great day of exploration. Kayakers circumnavigated Fox Island and got the chance to admire once again the beauty of the shoreline and to experience that intimate feeling of being close to nature that only kayaking provides. At the same time, some others explored the forest and the creek on Chichagof, learning more about the secrets of the Tongass National Forest and its plant and animal inhabitants.
Meanwhile, Alberto Montaudon and I went Scuba diving off the northwest point of Idaho Inlet to take underwater video to share with everyone on board. We encountered a wide variety of colorful marine creatures, including sea anemones, nudibranchs, rockfishes, and numerous different species of sea stars.
During lunch, we sailed a short distance to the north and dropped the anchor at a small archipelago known as the Inian Islands. Located between the large Chichagof Island and Glacier Bay National Park, the Inians form a bottleneck where huge volumes of water move through with the tides creating a very dynamic environment, home of numerous creatures. We boarded our expedition landing craft and explored the area; we watched sea and river otters along the shoreline, looking for their invertebrate or fish meals. Pigeon guillemots, marbled murrelets, and bald eagles were some of the bird species that we encountered. Many Steller’s sea lions, the largest of the sea lion species in the planet, rested on the rocks or swam around catching fish, occasionally shaking their prey violently in the air trying to break it into more manageable pieces and attracting glaucous-winged and other gulls. And as if this was not enough, several humpback whales swam in the area, including one that breached in front of us! We all had wonderful views of the abundant wildlife at the Inians and enjoyed another beautiful day in Southeast Alaska.
