This morning we awoke to thick soupy fog off the Inian Islands. Over breakfast the fog broke into patches with teasing blue skies above. Guests loaded into expedition landing craft and slowly puttered into the mist. Growling Steller sea lions greeted us, boisterously leaping into standing waves after salmon and grouping together in tight thigmotactic masses. The tide tore through the islands, whirlpools tugged at our boats and the wildlife went nuts with salmon pulled into the area. Humpback whales were sighted blowing and diving, horned puffins flew circles above the boats, eagles called from trees and sea otters rubbed sleepy eyes and rolled in kelp beds. It was a magical morning at the Serengeti of Southeast.
After lunch we headed to shore at Fox Creek, where guests enjoyed a variety of excursions. Many people headed into the forest on an adventurous bush-whacking expedition following bear trails, walking beside salmon swimming to their spawning grounds, and ending at a lovely waterfall cascading through the trees. Other folks took a shorter walk focused on forest ecology, culminating in an overlook into the salmon stream. Our photo instructor took a group on a photo walk, focusing in on a variety of mushrooms and berries, and learning about the challenges of shooting in forests. A couple folks headed out in kayaks to paddle through the kelp around a small island.
The evening was kicked off with a large group of resident killer whales surfacing around the ship, very likely drawn into the area by the abundance of salmon. It was hard to know which way to look with so many orcas around us! After dinner we picked up our Glacier Bay National Park ranger Kaylin and Tlingit cultural interpreter Faith.
