Petersburg and Patches of Blue
Early this morning we skied through the slalom course of Wrangell Narrows. The navigation channel was brightly festooned with red and green markers, which themselves were anointed with a smattering of eagles placed here and there, and there, and a few more over here. Kelp-lined mudflats drained of their lapping waters surfaced as though someone had pulled a gigantic bathtub stopper. A few Sitka black-tailed deer picked their way along the newly exposed shoreline. As photographers and binoculared eyes focused on the deer, the arcing squirts of water from clams buried in the mud created a miniature water show.
As we docked in Petersburg, the skies revealed promising patches of blue. Excursion choices included walks into a sphagnum filled bog, circling Petersburg and her surrounding glacial neighbors from an eagle eye vantage point, or simply enjoying the authentic flavor of an Alaskan fishing town.
When we walked along the berry-lined forest edge a few days ago at Alert Bay, bright ripe salmon berries beckoned, and we munched our way back to the ship. Today, further north, we find the salmon berries still dressed in delicate pink blossoms, too early to feed a bear newly-emerged - from its winter den - or an intrepid explorer anxious for lunch.
In the afternoon, Jack recapped then introduced the marine mammal fauna we enjoyed today and hope to ooh, ah and photograph in the days to come. The field guides never mentioned how "terminally cute" sea otters are.
Humpback whales! On the horizon and soon in front of us, next to us and all around us! With a perpetual rainbow to the east, Captain Kalbach maneuvered to compose the perfect memory for all: foreground flukes with a rainbow accent and snowcapped mountain backdrop. Appetizers migrated to the deck and we munched away in what was phrased as "gourmet whale watching" in a sporadically-falling heavy mist.
We ended the day wrestling with invertebrates in the dining room. Shells flew, claws cracked, butter melted and slid down lips, chins and fingers. We literally dove head first into plate after steaming plate of Dungeness crab, fresh caught from the hard working people that call Petersburg, Alaska home. Absolute heaven in a cracked shell, delicious.
Early this morning we skied through the slalom course of Wrangell Narrows. The navigation channel was brightly festooned with red and green markers, which themselves were anointed with a smattering of eagles placed here and there, and there, and a few more over here. Kelp-lined mudflats drained of their lapping waters surfaced as though someone had pulled a gigantic bathtub stopper. A few Sitka black-tailed deer picked their way along the newly exposed shoreline. As photographers and binoculared eyes focused on the deer, the arcing squirts of water from clams buried in the mud created a miniature water show.
As we docked in Petersburg, the skies revealed promising patches of blue. Excursion choices included walks into a sphagnum filled bog, circling Petersburg and her surrounding glacial neighbors from an eagle eye vantage point, or simply enjoying the authentic flavor of an Alaskan fishing town.
When we walked along the berry-lined forest edge a few days ago at Alert Bay, bright ripe salmon berries beckoned, and we munched our way back to the ship. Today, further north, we find the salmon berries still dressed in delicate pink blossoms, too early to feed a bear newly-emerged - from its winter den - or an intrepid explorer anxious for lunch.
In the afternoon, Jack recapped then introduced the marine mammal fauna we enjoyed today and hope to ooh, ah and photograph in the days to come. The field guides never mentioned how "terminally cute" sea otters are.
Humpback whales! On the horizon and soon in front of us, next to us and all around us! With a perpetual rainbow to the east, Captain Kalbach maneuvered to compose the perfect memory for all: foreground flukes with a rainbow accent and snowcapped mountain backdrop. Appetizers migrated to the deck and we munched away in what was phrased as "gourmet whale watching" in a sporadically-falling heavy mist.
We ended the day wrestling with invertebrates in the dining room. Shells flew, claws cracked, butter melted and slid down lips, chins and fingers. We literally dove head first into plate after steaming plate of Dungeness crab, fresh caught from the hard working people that call Petersburg, Alaska home. Absolute heaven in a cracked shell, delicious.
