Inian Islands & Fox Creek

One of the reoccurring themes of our journey so far has been salmon. Our first glimpses were of the salmon jumping in the sea. We have seen fishing boats trolling for the salmon that ended up on our dinner plates. Yesterday one of the trip's highlights was watching two young brown bears feasting on salmon. Today, again, salmon was a star attraction of the day.

We began with a Zodiac cruise in Icy Strait around the Inian Islands. We were on the edge of the Gulf of Alaska and this area is richly productive attracting lots of wildlife. Right away we saw sea otters wrapped up in the kelp beds. These furry, marine weasels feed on a variety of shellfish and even use rocks to break into crab shells.

There was a flooding tide so we felt the effect of the tidal washing machine full of whirlpools and small standing waves. We navigated close to an isolated rock where Steller sea lions were resting. Occasionally a curious sea lion would swim next to the Zodiacs, stunning us with its graceful underwater acrobatics.

Then we noticed that several of the sea lions were thrashing something on the water's surface. Upon a closer look we discovered that they were feeding on, you guessed it, salmon. The salmon were just a bit too big for the sea lions to swallow all at once so they had to break it up into manageable pieces. It was incredible to be so close to them as they worked hard for their morning meal.

After our lunch, we had the chance to explore Fox Creek, near Idaho Inlet, which is on Chichagof Island. We hiked through the peaceful rain forest along another pink salmon stream. We could see the salmon desperately struggling in sometimes inch deep water to reach the perfect place to spawn. We saw more evidence of bears feasting on salmon with discarded scraps on the forest floor. After returning to the ship, Sharon shared the story of how the human being received the first salmon. Salmon, we are learning, are a key species in both the marine and terrestrial ecosystems.