We started of our last day of expedition cruising aboard National Geographic Quest with a morning stretch class to a backdrop of beautiful cloudy skies and snowy mountains. Soon enough, we anchored in Sitkoh Bay and boarded Zodiacs for our last expedition of the trip. Some enjoyed paddling and taking in the beautiful coastline scenery, while others explored the temperate rainforest of the southeast end of Chicagof Island by walking along a retired logging road.
Meanwhile, the undersea naturalists, Lynn and I, donned our dive gear and underwater cameras to investigate what the depths of Sitkoh Bay hand to offer – a bounty of Dungeness crab. The morning walks and paddling may have been the final outing of the trip, but the fun did not end there. Following a delicious lunch, our youngest explorers took a huge step in their goal of becoming National Geographic Global Explorers by learning to drive the ship’s Zodiacs. Last, but most definitely not least, many brave souls fully immersed themselves in the Alaskan experience by plunging into the chilly waters as the rest cheered on from the bow of the ship. Our night was capped off with an amazing slideshow put together by Ryder, the photo instructor, who perfectly condensed the joy and memories of the trip into a beautiful slideshow. Between the wildlife, the sunsets, and the amazing group of explorers, this trip has been an incredible week of expedition cruising and we could not have had a better day to wrap it up.
