Today National Geographic Sea Bird and its crew came out swinging, kicking off our expedition by cruising into Endicott Arm. After breakfast, we launched our Zodiac fleet and set out for the Dawes Glacier face. As we weaved in and out of brash ice, nosed into waterfalls, and sailed deep into the Endicott Arm, we finally arrived at the brilliant blue sapphire face of the glacier. We inched closer and closer, eyes glued to the mile-wide frozen river, when suddenly, a massive serac calved off the face in what felt like slow motion. A thunderous clap rang out as the falling crystals broke and hit the water below. It was an emotional rush for all, and a treat to experience such a mighty force of nature. As we wrapped up our Zodiac tours and began cruising back towards Holcomb Bay, we soon met a humpbacked friend as well as a few Steller sea lions. We even got a wonderful view of Sum Dum Glacier as we cruised by. The day concluded with feelings of wonder and gratitude from today’s excursions and spirits are full of anticipation for what tomorrow holds.
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.