Making our way to the southernmost extent of our voyage, weather went south as well. Our planned anchorage at Ideal Cove was untenable due to high winds, but the expedition team came up with a new plan for the day filled with opportunity. After a call to our contact in Petersburg who arranged for us to come into the small harbor nestled among the commercial fishing fleet, we tied up to the dock during breakfast. We watched a quick video about the history of this village built from salmon. Then we departed on small boats to the opposing shore for walks through the muskeg while some guests walked the docks with our undersea specialist and photo instructor learning about the invertebrate life below docks and the fishing ships tied to them.
Muskeg is a special biome in coastal temperate rainforest. Sphagnum moss makes up much of the groundcover. It holds up to thirty times its original volume in water and through ionization of hydrogen creates an acidic and nutrient poor substrate for other plants to call home. We lose our familiar friends of Sitka spruce and western hemlock in favor of shore pine and yellow cedar that can handle the acidic and waterlogged soil. All sorts of small plants are uniquely adapted to life with little nitrogen in their environment. The sundew is a carnivorous plant with three different mucous secretions used to attract, capture and finally digest small insects. Many of our guests took deep interest in the small plants thriving in such a difficult environment to survive.
Lunch back on National Geographic Sea Lion reminded us that we are living in anything but a nutrient starved environment. We had hot dogs, burgers and pulled pork with a dill potato salad on the side and a basil lemonade prepared by senior steward Annie Robinson. Guests had choices for the afternoon. They could walk through town, take bikes out for a spin or go for a cannery tour and learn the way fish is processed. Our goal at Lindblad Expeditions is to provide enriching experiences for our guests and everyone who experienced the true nitty gritty of salmon processing walked away much more informed about their seafood choices for when they get back home.
To finish our day, everyone walked by the Sons of Norway Hall and made a left into Kito’s Kave, a bar made famous by Rolling Stone Magazine in the nineties. Guests took a load off, absorbing the local flavor and prepared for an epic, all-you-can eat crab feast back on ship, sweet dreams to be had by all before our day in Chatham Strait tomorrow.
