Delightfully amazing would be an accurate description of our morning. We awoke in Endicott Arm of the Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness to sunny skies and a crisp fall bite to the morning air. The scenery of the fjord was stunning: Massive chunks of ice floating peacefully, harbor seals playing hide and seek among ’bergs, and an impressive calving of ice from the face of Dawes Glacier. We sighted a black bear on shore as we navigated out of the fjord in the later afternoon. The day closed with a sunset warming the clouds to a peachy glow. A perfect start for our adventures in Southeast Alaska!
9/10/2024
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National Geographic Sea Lion
Pavlof Harbor
The day started with an exciting encounter. Before breakfast we observed a group of bubble-netting humpback whales. It was incredible to see them lunge and hear them breathing at the surface. This was coupled by a glorious pink sunrise. After breakfast we took Zodiac cruises searching for bears near Pavlof Harbor. Even though we did not find any (wildlife is always delightfully unexpected), the scenery was beautiful, and we watched many adorable harbor seals. After thinking the excitement of the day was done, we spotted a large group of whales from a distance. While approaching closer, we realized this group was also bubble-net feeding. Close to the shore, we observed these whales for hours. We even dropped the hydrophone to hear their haunting feeding call before they all lunged at the surface. It was one of the most incredible things any of us had ever witnessed. As if this wasn’t enough, at our sunset recap we got the call that there were killer whales around the ship. It was the most amazing ending to the most amazing day.
