Sometimes everything seems to align in the right way and beauty shows itself everywhere, or we may just get lucky. Whatever it was, today we enjoyed a wonderful day full of interesting events and beautiful sights, starting very early in the morning.
As National Geographic Sea Bird entered the Red Bluff area before breakfast we were stunned by the magnificent scenery of forest, snowy peaks, and blue sky reflected in the perfectly still waters of the bay. The intriguing barren appearance of the mountains created a perfect replica of themselves in the mirror-like surface of the bay. We learned from our onboard geologist, Al Trujillo, that recent analysis showed the presence of chromium and nickel on the rocks and are responsible of inhibiting plant growth on the bluff. But on the opposite shore, the Sitka spruce, western hemlock, and the occasional yellow cedar grow in all splendor and looked magnificent in the early morning light. We continued enjoying the view and the weather along the narrow bay and as we reached the end we discovered not one but four brown bears at the meadow! A sow with her two cubs and another adult were resting in the tall grasses and sedges, occasionally chewing them while a solitary swan watched nearby and some Canada geese flew around. What a privilege to being able to watch such a magnificent creature in the wild!
We got out of Red Bluff bay and continued sailing north along the east coast of Baranof Island but pretty soon discovered another brown bear sow with her cub; she was particularly attractive and relaxed even though a sub-adult bear was just a few feet away, possibly an older offspring of hers. Moments later, a couple of humpback whales distracted our attention from the bears! Shortly after that, we received the visit of Dr. Andy Szabo, the director of the Alaska Whale Foundation and an expert on the humpback whales of Southeast Alaska. He enlightened us with a very informative and entertaining talk about those impressive creatures. Meanwhile, groups of Dall’s porpoises could be seen breaking the calm surface of Chatham Strait and even approaching our ship for some bow-riding.
During the afternoon and after having seen one more bear walking along the beach, we arrived to Lake Eva and divided into several groups to hike and explore the forest and shores. Some also kayaked around the calm bay and got the chance to watch another brown bear at close range! What could be better than having seen nine bears in a day? Well, what about three more that we just discovered grazing in a coastal meadow during dinner for a total of 12 brown bears in a day! And I better stop writing this before more bears show up… what a wonderful day in Southeast Alaska!
