Whale breath smells like coffee. Outside on deck this morning our Hotel Manager Erasmo escorted us into wakefulness by serving cups of steaming coffee as we watched humpback whales breaching, pec slapping, and lunge feeding. A glowing sunrise was the backdrop for the pair of whales that chose to attempt ephemeral flight with a synchronous breach. Their efforts ended in a spectacular and well photographed splash. The early bird in Southeast Alaska catches the breach.
We continued our whale watch with our ears. A thick fog enveloped the National Geographic Sea Bird, and we could hear whales with their explosive exhalations nearby. As we crept along, a pair of whales started to slap their immense pectoral fins on the water. The percussive slaps helped direct our attentions as we struggled to find focus in the fog.
Saginaw Bay on Kuiu was next for our explorations. We kayaked alongside spruce-topped limestone cliffs and spied a couple of sea otters paddling about the bay. In the forest immense trees impressed us with their massive girth. It took several of us joining hands to completely encircle the trees. The tide was ebbing and we discovered the treasure of a set of wolf tracks on the newly exposed beach sand. We took the tracks home with us in the form of a plaster casting. We left a few boot prints in the mud, and took home one paw print.
Leaving Saginaw Bay and navigating towards Chatham Strait we were soon distracted by a pod of killer whales. Sprinkled amongst them were humpback whales diving, a few Stellar Sea lions splashing about and a number of seabirds. There were two magnificent males in the pod, their six-foot-tall dorsal fins wobbled slightly as they emerged, an inverted triangle reflected in the calm water surrounding them.
The late afternoon weather was shorts and T-shirt balmy. Inspiration struck our Hotel Manager once again and we enjoyed our evening appetizers and cocktails out on deck, a proper ending to a day that was saturated with superlatives and inundated by adjectives.
Whale Time by Bryan Michael Heaton, age 9
Fun for everyone
Whales breaching under the sun
Into the deep blue.
Soaring Eagles by Clare Heaton, age 11
Perched high on branches
Eagles spread their wings to fly
They soar with great ease.
