Black bear on the shore, starboard side, please whisper and close doors quietly. Perhaps not the usual way you get woken up in the morning, but we are not in a usual setting. The National Geographic Sea Bird is our home this week and she is taking us to wild and wonderful places. Wiping the sleep from your eyes to see a black bear is an amazing way to start the day. Afterwards, we crept up to “hole in the wall” waterfall. Captain Ninburg skillfully navigated the ship until we could feel the cool mist on our sleepy faces.
William’s Cove was our playground for the later morning. We paddled kayaks, cruised the shoreline, and gave our shiny rubber boots a trial run through somewhat carnivorous Alaskan mud. Shades of green surrounded us as we explored the moss-covered, lichen-laden temperate rain forest. Numerous discoveries were made, including bear tracks, eagle feathers, bear scat, and a playful harbor porpoise that frolicked amongst the kayakers.
South Sawyer glacier was our destination for the afternoon. Brilliant sunshine lit the glacier and we cruised amongst the recently calved icebergs, bergy bits, and growlers. Several thunderous calving events kept our attentions glued to the glacier as our expedition landing craft bobbed in the ensuing waves. Pirates! Then the pirates arrived! Looking much like our bartender, galley crew, and Captain, a boatload of Viking helmeted hybrid-pirates driving the Coco boat scooted amongst the icebergs tracking down our cruisers delivering hot chocolate garnished with whip cream and Crème de menthe (where it was age appropriate), we savored the scenery and delighted in the spontaneous beverage service.
Inspiration surrounded us from dawn to dusk today and one of our young explorers put pencil to paper and shared with all of us her highlight of the day.
Glaciers by Diana Mitchell, age 8
Freezing glacier’s burr
Watching it from the boat, wow!
Dark blue, light blue, cool.
