What an exciting first day of exploration! We began at the mouth of Endicott Arm, with low clouds encircling the snow-capped peaks as we sailed through calm and reflective waters. It was amazingly beautiful scenery and a classic Alaskan atmosphere! We spotted a bald eagle perched comfortably at the top of piece of ice that was slowly drifting by. Soon after, a coastal brown bear was spotted eating grasses on the shore. We were in Holkham Bay, and the captain slowed the engines so that we quietly and slowly drifted along the shore to get a closer view. Afterwards we headed inside to a warm and delicious breakfast with and warm coffee and tea. After we’d eaten many headed outside to the bow to take in more of the beautiful scenery, and one of the guests spotted a mother moose and her very young calf along the shore. The moose walked along in the water for some distance. It was a great opportunity to observe and photograph their behavior. Moose are not common in Endicott Arm so this was a very special experience.
We continued to sail through upper Endicott and arrived at Dawes Glacier at lunchtime. After a wonderful lunch, we loaded up into the expedition landing crafts and set off through the chunky ice bits to get a closer look at the glacier, and learn more about it and the geology of the area. We saw some very large pieces of ice calving which was a very exciting moment to witness. As we turned back to head out of Endicott Arm during dinner, ice flowed past the ship with an occasional harbor seal hauled out, and the clouds once again sat low on the hills surrounding us.
