Thick fog greeted us as the captain eased the National Geographic Sea Bird into its anchorage at George Island. The shores eventually revealed themselves during breakfast and visibility was good enough for us to go ahead with our planned kayaking during the morning excursion. While the hikers explored this beautiful island, finding mink, skunk cabbage and a war relic in the form of a 6-inch barrel gun, the kayakers plied the calm waters and explored the rocky shores. A whale announced its presence by blowing near the ship and birds sang in the forest. The transient fog added to the experience and made for an intimate encounter with Southeast Alaska.
During lunch, we repositioned to the Hobbit Hole, our anchorage in the heart of the Inian Islands. After a hearty lunch, we boarded our expeditionary landing craft again and set off to cruise through the wild Inian Islands. What we found was astounding! Sea lions romped and played in the strong currents swirling around a large rock while others staked out their turf along the shoreline. Sea birds swirled overhead and we were treated to an unusual sighing of a peregrine falcon. The ever-popular puffins were also sighted as they bounced across the waves and flew madly over our heads. Sea otters lounged in the kelp and feasted on the bounty provided by the kelp forests below.
While we cruised around in our expeditionary landing craft, our undersea specialist, Colin, and head chef, Michelle, set off for a dive to explore the underwater world. They found flying scallops, basket stars and some very friendly Steller sea lions. It was an exciting dive, and indicative of this wild land.
Some of our younger guests ventured out with our most experienced drivers to learn how to drive the expeditionary landing craft. Their cheers and delighted screams echoed through the ship as they zoomed through the water on their way to earning their Junior Expeditionary Landing Craft Driver certificates.
After dinner, we picked up a park ranger and a native Interpreter for our exploration of Glacier Bay National Park. Sleep now. Charge your batteries. Great things await us.
