Our wellness specialist opened the morning by asking us to all fill our ‘air with lungs’ during our morning stretching. From there, the calm comedy of the day continued. Today was a sailing day as we return to the United States. Our faithful Expedition Leader, Steve Morello, greeted us over the PA system with jokes and wishes for a very happy Mother’s Day.

While the boat moves through larger channels with the goal of traveling a far distance, it is impossible to look in any direction at any point and not be stunned by the beauty of the view. The morning was peaceful, and the bow was filled with happy faces. We joked that “we weren’t seeing anything,” because we were in an area that was ONLY surrounded by gorgeous snowcapped mountains. Just before we filtered into the lounge for Dr. Stephen Cunha’s fascinating presentation on glaciers, a couple male humpbacks passed by to let us know they were still there.

On travel days, Chef Eric tends to go all out for our guests and he did not disappoint: hake tostadas followed by a scrumptious mountain berry mousse. There was no stress onboard as we pulled into Ketchikan for our remigration into the USA and entry into Alaska. The oldest city in Alaska and Salmon Capital of the world, Ketchikan is a quaint town built down the side of a stunning mountain range. Leaving the lovely town, we worked our way towards Misty Fjords in a smaller channel hugged by snowy mountains.

Photographers: Luke Manson and Amy Malkoski