The morning began amidst the dotted landscape of the Inian Islands. Being the northernmost point where the open Pacific enters the waters of the Inside Passage of Southeast Alaska, the resulting bioactivity was greeted with much anticipation by our guests. Taking off in our expedition landing craft, we braved the tumultuous water of the flooding tide to witness a myriad of sea lions feeding in the surf, sea otters waiting for the waters to calm in the bull kelp, and the occasional humpback whale spouting in the distance—all proof of just what an epic nature encounter such a place provides. The afternoon was spent in Port Althorp, a nearby inlet with pink salmon jumping around our guests as they paddled the calm waters in kayaks, streaming past the jellies and sea otters that inhabited the area.
9/10/2024
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National Geographic Sea Lion
Pavlof Harbor
The day started with an exciting encounter. Before breakfast we observed a group of bubble-netting humpback whales. It was incredible to see them lunge and hear them breathing at the surface. This was coupled by a glorious pink sunrise. After breakfast we took Zodiac cruises searching for bears near Pavlof Harbor. Even though we did not find any (wildlife is always delightfully unexpected), the scenery was beautiful, and we watched many adorable harbor seals. After thinking the excitement of the day was done, we spotted a large group of whales from a distance. While approaching closer, we realized this group was also bubble-net feeding. Close to the shore, we observed these whales for hours. We even dropped the hydrophone to hear their haunting feeding call before they all lunged at the surface. It was one of the most incredible things any of us had ever witnessed. As if this wasn’t enough, at our sunset recap we got the call that there were killer whales around the ship. It was the most amazing ending to the most amazing day.