Icy Strait, Fox Creek and The Inian Islands
Again the morning greeted us with some fog, but with a series of patches of blue sky. We were deep in Idaho Inlet, where we slowly crept along, looking for wildlife. And we found it! Sea otters, Harbor porpoise, a deer and a magnificent group of gulls. We scanned the meadow at the end of the inlet, but no bears were sighted. Slowly we retreated, and had the marvelous opportunity of watching a series of humpback whales swim by, breach and pectoral flap. A sight that not all humans have the opportunity of seeing.
Again on board, we slowly began our way to the Inian group of islands, en route watching a good number of humpback whales blow and breach near the ship! Yes, the big humpback whales, quite common in this area. Once there, and after lunch, we began a series of Zodiac tours to one of the outside islands, with a view to the open Pacific. Here we were exactly at one of the waterways to the Inside Passage, with the water going in every which direction, forming very wavy areas, as well as whirlpools. Here the Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus), great monsters of the ocean (weighing in at up to one ton), were busy at work catching fish, mostly salmon (we could see the red, red meat), coming up to the surface and vigorously shaking the fish back and forth, till they broke in two pieces, swallowing one piece first, and going for the second piece then while above them hovered a great number of gulls, all feasting on small pieces of fish, or the entrails and/or the roe of the females. Life busily at work! Some different birds were also seen: eagles, pigeon guillemots, cormorants and more gulls. Definitely a great wildlife day! And, of course, in the not too far distance, humpback whales blowing and doing other interesting behaviors.
