Our first day in Canada! Early this morning National Geographic Sea Lion entered the province of British Columbia and the port city of Prince Rupert. Prince Rupert was established in 1906 as the western terminus of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Company’s transcontinental line. It is also a main shipping port for entrance and exit in and out of Canada.
Our Captain anchored just off the main port entrance with the small city of Prince Rupert in the background. We were here to clear customs into Canada and begin our seven-day journey down the western sea coast of British Columbia. Once the Canadian officials cleared our crew, staff, and guests, we began a leisurely cruise south through the Grenville Channel considered one of the true gems of the Inside Passage. The land is extremely rugged, a wilderness with no roads, impassible forests and very few towns.
In the late afternoon we arrived at Klewnuggit Inlet Marine Park. Zodiacs and kayaks were launched, and our afternoon was spent exploring a place of quiet and subtle beauty. It was a gray on gray day with shades of dark green....mirrored reflections, moon jellies, birds, a single mink, and many harbor seals looked over to see who was floating along looking into their world.
