A newcomer to Southeast Alaska might be heard to say, “It rained off and on for half a day…”
A veteran to Southeast Alaska might be heard to say, “It rained off and on for only half a day!”
To both, an Alaskan undersea specialist would reply, “It rained today!?”
In the early, but already light-filled, morning hours the dive program aboard the National Geographic Sea Bird was well underway while the rest of the ship took a more civilized approach to their day. Beneath the blustery surface of Kelp Bay however was a tranquil and alien world full of underwater life. Plumose anemones, larger than some of the younger explorers aboard, swayed gently in the current, trapping their prey with flower-like crown of tentacles. Sunflower stars scuttled across the calcium carbonate covered ocean floor with astonishing speed. Candy striped shrimp faithfully patrolled the myriad of invertebrate life that blossomed out of the hard substrate in bright shades of red, orange, and pink, once touched by manmade LED lights.
Back out of the water, but not entirely dry, the expedition continued on into its peregrination
of Baranof Island with a brief, but compelling, sighting of a coastal brown bear, (and still before breakfast!). The day continued, as most days do, as all aboard settled in and found their sea legs, or at least a comfortable spot on the ship to curl up and enjoy some mild rolling wave action.
Once in the protected lee of Pavlof Harbor, activities were able to start in earnest, many taking their first steps into the Tongass temperate rain forest and the wonders in vibrant green that lay within on interpretive hikes. Others took to paddling amongst facetiously breaching salmon on their way to the local fish ladder or zooming along the coast for an overview of the dynamic intertidal zone that is so integral to this ecosystem. Blue skies and golden exclamations of light occasionally would burst out of the clouds that shrouded the surrounding peaks in a calming grey. Punctuated at the end of the day by a pair of gleaming rainbows a newcomer to Alaska might say, “Isn’t it nice it rained on and off all day?”
