Pavlof Harbor and Freshwater Bay
We could have not expected anything better. Alaska wilderness was at her finest today. We enjoyed the warm, sunny weather that has accompanied us throughout our voyage thus far. Waking up in the protected waters of Pavlof Harbor, we were going ashore for hikes through the forest and paddling in the kayaks. It was quite a morning. We walked up to the salmon ladder and were greeted by the Tlinget Native Americans who keep close eye on the ladder, counting the salmon as they travel upstream to their spawning grounds. They took time to show us the different species of salmon as they were making their morning counts. When the salmon are running they provide a perfect meal for the brown bear. Although the brown bear we spotted was not eating, he immersed himself into the clear water, to cool himself from the warm morning sun. Everyone was full of excitement as we made our way back to the Sea Lion for lunch.
Bear stories quickly became talk of whales. We had spotted three transient killer whales patrolling the area nearby. We watched from a distance as these animals came up for breaths. We inched our way closer until the whales surprised us, surfacing right in front of the ship. The white coloration could be seen moving under the waters surface. We watched them for some time, but because the direction of the whales travel was different from ours, we turned away, and continued cruising north towards Chatham Strait.
We didn’t get far. Humpback whales had something different in mind for us. Instead of cruising we stopped and watched a group of humpbacks bubble net feeding over, and over, and over. We watched from a distance, listening to the hydrophone, waiting to see the bubbles, then the appearance of the whales, cooperatively lunging up to feed on the small herring that they had herded together. The whales seemed to want to give us a better look, or maybe the haring were trying to hide near the boat, nonetheless, the whales lunged right beside the boat, coming so close that many of us forgot to take photos, because we were yelling and shouting, we were to caught up in the moment. Alaska, you have to love this place!
After watching these magnificent sites for nearly two hours we had to resume our course north. We had spent our entire day, in less than a five-mile radius. We needed to start making our way north for tomorrow at Glacier Bay National Park.
We could have not expected anything better. Alaska wilderness was at her finest today. We enjoyed the warm, sunny weather that has accompanied us throughout our voyage thus far. Waking up in the protected waters of Pavlof Harbor, we were going ashore for hikes through the forest and paddling in the kayaks. It was quite a morning. We walked up to the salmon ladder and were greeted by the Tlinget Native Americans who keep close eye on the ladder, counting the salmon as they travel upstream to their spawning grounds. They took time to show us the different species of salmon as they were making their morning counts. When the salmon are running they provide a perfect meal for the brown bear. Although the brown bear we spotted was not eating, he immersed himself into the clear water, to cool himself from the warm morning sun. Everyone was full of excitement as we made our way back to the Sea Lion for lunch.
Bear stories quickly became talk of whales. We had spotted three transient killer whales patrolling the area nearby. We watched from a distance as these animals came up for breaths. We inched our way closer until the whales surprised us, surfacing right in front of the ship. The white coloration could be seen moving under the waters surface. We watched them for some time, but because the direction of the whales travel was different from ours, we turned away, and continued cruising north towards Chatham Strait.
We didn’t get far. Humpback whales had something different in mind for us. Instead of cruising we stopped and watched a group of humpbacks bubble net feeding over, and over, and over. We watched from a distance, listening to the hydrophone, waiting to see the bubbles, then the appearance of the whales, cooperatively lunging up to feed on the small herring that they had herded together. The whales seemed to want to give us a better look, or maybe the haring were trying to hide near the boat, nonetheless, the whales lunged right beside the boat, coming so close that many of us forgot to take photos, because we were yelling and shouting, we were to caught up in the moment. Alaska, you have to love this place!
After watching these magnificent sites for nearly two hours we had to resume our course north. We had spent our entire day, in less than a five-mile radius. We needed to start making our way north for tomorrow at Glacier Bay National Park.
