Water. It is what makes Southeast Alaska such a lush, rich, green world for us to explore. It is what carries the National Geographic Sea Bird to a front row seat for glaciers, orcas, humpback whales, and waterfalls. It is also what was falling out of the sky as our evening and an incredible voyage came to a close today, cruising through Peril Straight toward our final destination in Sitka.
The morning began for some of us at 4:30, when a gentle announcement came over the PA system that the 3rd mate had found a group of killer whales in the wee hours of the morning. We stayed with them for about an hour as they scattered, then gathered, and jumped playfully through the waves.
We arrived later in the morning at Pavlof Harbor, where we got one final trip to shore for hiking and kayaking. The tide was very low upon our arrival, so we got to wander on the beach between sea stars, rockweed, and the sporadic squirt of clams retreating into the rock and sand. Hikers continued away from shore, where they got to see what the waters of the flowing stream had to share. They found a beaver’s lodge, a fish ladder, and chocolate lilies galore. Back in the harbor, kayakers were treated to a favorite sight in Southeast Alaska: a brown bear. The bear wandered out of the Sitka Alders to feed on beach grass at the high tide line, and let us sit there quietly watching. The afternoon brought that elixir of life in the form of mist and rain, feeding the streams, forests, and sea.
