Princess Royale Island, British Columbia
At O’dark-thirty we took to the forward deck and scanned by the ship’s spotlights the shores of Butedale, British Columbia, where spirit bears are known to ease in and out of the dense forest. The spirit of the white bear was all around us. But it was the river otters, a family of five, who played in the kelp beds and swam in the pooling water at the base of the cascading waterfall that held our attention. It turned into an “otterly ridiculous” hour of photography and fun watching these animals at a close distance from National Geographic Sea Bird.
Humpback whales logged along Princess Royale Island. Gulls rafted on floating logs called “dead heads.” Salmon breached making their way upstream. Harbor seals and porpoise surfaced in eddying water along the steep sided forested walls that surround Khutze Inlet. We invested the morning exploring, accompanied by pouring rain, soft showers, and intermittent sunlight shining through “sucker holes” in the clouds, with even a rainbow guiding our ship to the mythical “pot of gold.”
The weather lifted and we dropped our fleet of Zodiacs in Jackson Narrows for a unique opportunity to explore further British Columbia. While some walked in the forest, other chose a Zodiac cruise giving us all a closer look at this rich area. Five species of sea stars clung to the rocky shores, lavender, sun yellow, and red. An active nest with bald eagles flying in and out towered above us, while pink salmon jumped, all to the plaintive call of a loon.
Dancing under the stars on the sundeck gave photographers practice with flash photography. Another one of our on-going, on-board, hands-on, photo breakout sessions where “practice makes permanent.” This added layer of a photo expedition makes it more likely we successfully apply our newly learned skills to the artistry of “writing with light.”
