Our last day on the Sea Bird
We have had an awesome week full of adventures, and needless to say, today was another one. This is how our day went.
In the morning.
We paddled around the Shaw Islands and saw 4 bald eagles, a pair of crows foraging in the intertidal zone, seastars, mussles, clams, rockweed, and bull kelp in the exposed rocky shoreline. On the other side of the islands we stumbled upon about a dozen harbor seals hauled out and resting on the rocks, looking back at us with those huge black eyes. Humpback whales were nearby. We heard their exhalations and saw their flukes up in the air indicating a dive. A lone minke whale was also seen lunge feeding on the surface.
On our hike we followed the trail in the forest along Fox Creek. Under the canopy of spruce and hemlock trees, we saw the typical ground cover and shrubs of this temperate rainforest. After a half hour, crossing the creek twice, we reached a beautiful small waterfall. Undoubtely, one of the highlights of every hike has been bear scat. And we found some again, right in the middle of the creek.
In the afternoon.
Once anchored in Inian Cove and immediately after getting in the Zodiacs, we had about half a dozen humpback whales surfacing and diving around us. One of them surfaced so close that the tail did not fit in the frame of the photo. After that excitement, we encountered the curious and playful Steller sea lions. Some of them were busy catching and thrashing salmon to eat while others approached the Zodiacs to “people watch” (I guess). One of them even touched the side of the Zodiac. It seemed like we (us and the sea lions) entertained each other. Upon looking close to shore, in the kelp, we detected several sea otters, bobbing their heads up to look at us. A while after lifting anchor, a lone male orca was spotted traveling amist a sea of blows, backs and flukes of humpback whales.
In the evening.
Right in the middle of dinner we noticed the captain had slowed down, and sure enough, we looked out the window and there they were. We all rushed up on deck. Thirteen (13!!!!!!) humpbacks swam in a tight group, diving to feed. Powerful exhalations, one after the other. Flukes up and down, one after the other. In the meantime, keeping up with the adults, three calves kept themselves busy breaching, rolling, and tail thrashing.
It was déjà vu: the first day of our journey we woke up to orca and humpbacks. This last day we say farewell to orca and humpbacks. And in between, adventures that have changed our lives.
We have had an awesome week full of adventures, and needless to say, today was another one. This is how our day went.
In the morning.
We paddled around the Shaw Islands and saw 4 bald eagles, a pair of crows foraging in the intertidal zone, seastars, mussles, clams, rockweed, and bull kelp in the exposed rocky shoreline. On the other side of the islands we stumbled upon about a dozen harbor seals hauled out and resting on the rocks, looking back at us with those huge black eyes. Humpback whales were nearby. We heard their exhalations and saw their flukes up in the air indicating a dive. A lone minke whale was also seen lunge feeding on the surface.
On our hike we followed the trail in the forest along Fox Creek. Under the canopy of spruce and hemlock trees, we saw the typical ground cover and shrubs of this temperate rainforest. After a half hour, crossing the creek twice, we reached a beautiful small waterfall. Undoubtely, one of the highlights of every hike has been bear scat. And we found some again, right in the middle of the creek.
In the afternoon.
Once anchored in Inian Cove and immediately after getting in the Zodiacs, we had about half a dozen humpback whales surfacing and diving around us. One of them surfaced so close that the tail did not fit in the frame of the photo. After that excitement, we encountered the curious and playful Steller sea lions. Some of them were busy catching and thrashing salmon to eat while others approached the Zodiacs to “people watch” (I guess). One of them even touched the side of the Zodiac. It seemed like we (us and the sea lions) entertained each other. Upon looking close to shore, in the kelp, we detected several sea otters, bobbing their heads up to look at us. A while after lifting anchor, a lone male orca was spotted traveling amist a sea of blows, backs and flukes of humpback whales.
In the evening.
Right in the middle of dinner we noticed the captain had slowed down, and sure enough, we looked out the window and there they were. We all rushed up on deck. Thirteen (13!!!!!!) humpbacks swam in a tight group, diving to feed. Powerful exhalations, one after the other. Flukes up and down, one after the other. In the meantime, keeping up with the adults, three calves kept themselves busy breaching, rolling, and tail thrashing.
It was déjà vu: the first day of our journey we woke up to orca and humpbacks. This last day we say farewell to orca and humpbacks. And in between, adventures that have changed our lives.
