We had a wonderful first day of our trip together. We woke up near the sandbar that marks the entrance to Tracy Arm. We spent the early morning on the bow, looking at seabirds and the incredible towering rock faces of the fjord. Upon sighting South Sawyer Glacier, we dropped our Zodiacs to explore this special place in Tracy Arm-Fords Terror National Wilderness. We were lucky from the beginning. We saw three mountain goats grazing on impossibly high vegetation on the rock walls around us. As we moved closer to the face of the glacier, harbor seals inquisitively popped their heads up from all sides of our Zodiacs. We even got the chance to see some pretty remarkable calving events. During and after lunch, we enjoyed the views from National Geographic Sea Bird as we cruised towards Williams Cove near the mouth of Tracy Arm. Here, we all went ashore to explore and get our first taste of the temperate rainforest of Southeast Alaska. It was a beautiful afternoon with clear views of the nearby mountains and with lots to discover in the forest – we even enjoyed some snacking on salmonberries, blueberries, and watermelon berries along the way. We were happy to be off to such a great start!
7/21/2024
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National Geographic Sea Lion
Inian Islands
After navigating the Icy Strait overnight, we arrived at Cross Sound which placed us in the perfect spot to explore the Inian Islands. South of Glacier Bay National Park, the Inian Islands are an amazing place to view wildlife. The Pacific’s nutrient-rich waters enter the Inside Passage, which creates an upwelling of fish from the seafloor that sea lions, harbor seals, gulls, bald eagles, and others feast on during the day. In the afternoon, our Captain repositioned National Geographic Sea Lion near George Island, providing our guests the opportunity to explore the island by hiking, kayaking, or paddleboarding. In the evening, we had an amazing surprise when killer whales appeared near the bow of National Geographic Sea Lion . As our naturalists provided information about the killer whales our guests enjoyed them as they displayed hunting behavior, breaching, and fluke-slapping.