Another spectacular day in Southeast Alaska! We awoke on National Geographic Venture to an ethereal, misty, and foggy morning in Halleck Harbor. The guests enjoyed a delightful morning stretch with Allison on the sun deck, followed by another scrumptious breakfast by the best galley team in the fleet. The beginning of the day was jam-packed with adventure as expedition leader Terry offered all of the things this morning! Most of our guests went ashore to enjoy a combination of water sports and hiking choices. Karson took the avid thrill seekers on a bushwhack, while others enjoyed moderate hikes and intertidal walks at a more leisurely pace. There was a negative tide this morning, and many intertidal critters were on display without their normal watery privacy curtain. We saw sea cucumbers, anemones, sea stars, and urchins galore! Those who were not keen to go ashore enjoyed a delightful Zodiac cruise in the calm waters of Halleck Harbor; there they discovered Bonaparte’s gulls, bald eagles, jellyfish, sea otters, and more.
In the afternoon we searched for whales in Frederick Sound, as we hadn’t seen any so far this trip. Our patience paid off even more than we had anticipated! Not only did we have an exciting whale watching experience — complete with a tail-lobbing and pectoral-slapping humpback — but plenty of friendly porpoises also graced us with their presence, almost begging us to pay attention to them instead. We completed the afternoon with a close-up view of Kasnyku Waterfall. The evening was full of great food and good times at recap. The Ice Melt-Off winner was announced, and the expedition team enthusiastically shared all the wonders we experienced today in Southeast Alaska.
