Icy Straits and the Inians
Today has been a day difficult to overpass. Early in the morning a pod of orcas or killer whales was sighted. Quite a bit before breakfast! An adult male, younger males, and females. Possibly more than six. Of course we changed course and followed them at a decent distance. Their behavior did not change by our presence. They kept on slowly swimming in the same direction we saw them swimming. And we observed these magnificent animals for more than an hour. Breakfast eventually was served, and we proceeded on our trip to our morning destination, that area between the numerous Inian Islands. These islands front the open Pacific, and the swells can be very big. Water whirls in every direction, making strong whirlpools. Here we observed a large rock with numerous Steller sea lions, the largest of these animals in the world. Males may weigh up to 1,200 pounds!
Their low roar was very strong, as well as the odor of the rookery. Many different species of birds live on these islands also, among them various gulls, cormorants, pigeon guillemots, and eagles. We had the opportunity to see some of the sea lions come up to the surface with an enormous fish in their jaws, shake it back and forth, as they cannot chew it, break it in two pieces, swallow one, go to the other and swallow that piece too! At the same time, a good number of the gulls are flying around the scene of action and getting the scraps of the fish.
After this adventure, we turned around and made our short way to the small fishing community of Elfin Cove, where we enjoyed their festivities of this 4th of July. There was a small parade on the boardwalk (there are no roads, the community hangs from the sides of a steep hill, surrounded by water). There was a slug race and a humpback whale bobbing competition. Some firecrackers were set off, for the enjoyment of the community.
After lunch on board, we again set off for a different location, that of Fox Creek. Here we had different hikes into the forest, after enjoying a good number of different plants on the beach. Two trees immediately inside the forest were severely scratched by the huge claws of the brown bears, and immediately behind these trees we saw a set of bear tracks that have been there for generations, well-marked into the ground! And in this forest we had the opportunity to see many different species of plants, especially orchids, of which we saw the bog orchid, the rein orchid, and the two species of tiny tway-blades. The other interesting activity was the kayaking from the beach at Shaw Island, in the immediate vicinity of the hiking beach, where we had the chance to kayak completely around the small island.
