Our morning began as a study in gray and ended with shimmering curtains of color. The view after breakfast was gray sky, flat gray water and, as we rounded the southern tip of Admiralty Island, the dark gray body of a solitary humpback whale. As we approached, this whale seemed to be completely occupied with the catching and consumption of its breakfast. We saw huge splashes as it swished and slapped its tail fluke, then surfaced with its mouth wide open and throat pleats fully distended.
Throughout the day the clouds lifted, the sun peeked out and, by evening, the world was full of color again. We watched a group of humpbacks diving in the sunset after dinner. Then, just after most of us had dropped off to sleep, there was a gentle invitation to come back out on deck to see a sky-full of stars lit up by the aurora borealis.
