We woke up this morning to calm seas on our first day of this expedition following the Ring of Fire from Nome to Tokyo. After an introduction from our specialists, the expedition team and our visiting scientist, we took great care in bio-securing our equipment before our first excursion of the voyage.

In the afternoon, we made our first landing in the Alaska Marine Wildlife Refuge on the island of St. Matthew. Once ashore we were able to put our newfound skills learned from National Geographic Certified Photo Expert Michael Nolan to use. We had great opportunities to shoot wildflowers and even the endemic insular vole, only found on St. Matthew Island!