The start of any expedition is rife with uncertainty. Will we see wildlife? Will the weather behave? Will I mesh with my shipmates? It didn’t take long to answer any of these questions as the first half of our first full day produced not only mild weather but multiple wildlife sightings and a willing audience eager to learn and laugh.

We were roused earlier than expected by our expedition leader’s encouraging voice: “Good morning aboard the National Geographic Sea Lion. It’s 5:30am and we have whales!”

Boom! Out of bed and into the low lying clouds of Southeast Alaska we gathered for our first wildlife sighting of the trip. Beneath the soft outline of Chichagof and Baranof Islands a pair of dark, arching forms periodically emerged, followed by a staccato report as they drew in massive lung-fulls of air before diving for 5-7 minutes at a time. With all hands on deck this pair of humpback whales primed us for what was to come.

Just before lunch, while positioning to our afternoon anchorage, multiple large splashes caught the eye of our bridge watch. Only one animal around here is big enough to create such a spectacle- breaching humpback whales! Sure enough, as we approached we found not only one, but two whales jumping so high we could see their entire bodies. It was mom and calf. The baby was born around January or December in Hawaii and came to Alaska to eat. As we pulled away their flukes and pectoral fins were out of the water as though they were waving goodbye.

This afternoon we trekked into the wilds of Pavlof Harbor not knowing what we were going to encounter. Some groups came across a waterfall with young silver salmon swimming in circles. Others saw a bald eagle fly by holding a fish while another eagle was on the ground eating. We watched an eagle try to take off but it didn’t manage to get very high. Mist flew off its wings as it attempted to take off.

On the trail, shards of Sitka spruce cones were everywhere. There was a giant mound of cone stems which we learned was made by red squirrels as they eat the seeds.

As we walked back to the landing we saw one of the other groups and waved ecstatically to tell them about our exciting adventure.