As the National Geographic Sea Lion cruised her way out of the Icy Strait, and headed for Chichagof Island into Freshwater Bay we awoke to a typical Southeast Alaskan morning. The clouds hung low, and there was a chilly drizzle as we did our daily exercise class. As the Tlingit (pronounced “Klingit") community would say, "Haa Kaa gaa kuwatee" meaning, “it’s good weather for us.” With that in thought, we welcomed the day with a range of motion, balance routine, and inhaled as much fresh Alaskan air as we could.
As scheduled, we soon arrived into Freshwater Bay, in an area called Pavlof Harbor. Once transported to shore, we broke up into different groups. There was an option to go exploring by foot and do a nature hike led by a naturalist, or by water via a kayak and or a motorized D.I.B. Just as soon as the exploration started, the timely schedule was put to pause. Just around the bend that leads to a cascading waterfall, a group of twenty hikers were halted to a stop. A coastal brown bear that seemed to be minding its own business had crossed our path. Word had spread by walkie-talkie among staff, and allowed enough time for all to see this magnificent animal as they followed up river towards the falls by kayak or motorized boats. At a safe distance, everyone watched in silence and really appreciated what nature had to offer. After a while, the bear wandered into the woods, leaving us with no other option but to continue our adventurous hike.
As a warm welcome back aboard the ship, we all enjoyed a nice cup of hot hazelnut tomato soup, salad, garlic bread, and fish. After lunch, we were cruising just past South Passage Point, a naturalist had spotted a brown bear sow with two cubs on shore. The National Geographic Sea Lion was able to pull close enough to see this beautiful moment. To make this all picture perfect, an Alaskan float plane came out of the horizon and flew past us as a friendly reminder as to the remote nature of this part of the state.
There was an afternoon presentation that focused on the geology of Alaska given by one of the naturalist/geologist on board. The main topics that were presented focused on complicated geological features, divergent boundaries, pacific plates, history of Alaskan earthquakes and paleontology in Alaska. Continuing to cruise the east coast of Chichagof Island, we enjoyed an afternoon underway gathering ourselves and our reflections after an absolutely extraordinary week!
