We awoke as the ship was about to drop anchor just off of Pond Island in Kelp Bay. After breakfast, we headed to shore where an exciting morning of bushwhacking awaited us. Breaking off into several groups, we traversed the slippery terrain in true explorer fashion – following bear trails, admiring the handiwork of beavers, smelling the flowers, and eating our body weight in blueberries.
As we headed over to our next stop we spotted and followed a pod of killer whales –it was truly incredible to see the six-foot dorsal fin of the male killer whale set to the backdrop of beautiful snowcapped mountains.
We pulled into our anchorage by Lake Eva in the afternoon and quickly disembarked to explore the island. As we hiked by the lake, we saw several squirrels, hugged a Sitka spruce tree that is several centuries old, and admired the odd beauty that is slime mold. Along the creek we encountered some salmon that were getting an early start on their eventual uphill swim.
In the meantime, the undersea specialist donned her dive gear and went scuba diving by some nearby rocks. Under the water line she captured footage of sea stars, several species of nudibranch, an Alaskan ronquil, and some very curious rockfish.
We ended the day with another delicious meal by the galley and a special Kid’s Night featuring a showing of Despicable Me accompanied by tater tots, and chicken tenders. What more could one really ask for?
