Inian Islands
After two consecutive days of glorious sunshine we woke to slightly misty conditions in the Inian Islands. But our hopes of finally getting some use of our rain gear were short lived. As we rode our Zodiacs by the narrow passage named the “Hobbit Hole,” the rain had stopped, the fogs lifted and the seas lay like glass. Sea otters peeked out of their kelp beds, curiously watching us drift by. Then we entered the magical interface between Pacific Ocean and Alaskan coastline… and suddenly life seemed to erupt all around.
On rocky outcroppings, massive Steller sea lion bulls barked and battled. The waters boiled with the force of currents and salmon coming home from the sea. Sea lions dove into the melee and emerged with salmon clenched between their jaws, aptly killing the fish by shaking, then swallowing them in a few concise bites. Seabirds dove in to get a piece of the action and a lone eagle watched from its perch above. The feeding frenzy was interrupted only briefly when a small group of humpback whales appeared on the scene. A calf, its mother and a third whale leisurely made their way by our boats towards the open Pacific. Ever curious, the sea lions bobbed and weaved around boats and whales, inquisitive and playful with the strangers in their midst.
Eventually we had to tear ourselves away from this spectacle of nature… to come face-to-face with Alaska’s colorful history. After climbing all the way to the top of tiny George’s Island, we discovered a giant canon, which dated back to the early 1900s. This massive weapon had been installed in 1942 to defend Alaska’s coastline from the threat of a Pacific invasion. We stood in awe, poignantly reminded that World War II touched even this remote corner of the world. Following the footsteps of history, we finished the day visiting an Alaskan Brigadoon: Elfin Cove, a tiny fishing hamlet with no roads or cars, just boats, a boardwalk and year-round population of nine. The Alaskan spirit is alive and well in Elfin Cove and nobody in our group could escape its spell.
Our travel back in time will continue tomorrow, when we go all the way back to the Ice Age exploring Glacier Bay… we can’t wait.
