What A Day! And not only because it was Mother’s Day. Well before breakfast, under cloudless skies and a rising sun, we encountered a pod of three killer whales: a male, mother, and calf. They were well separated, but the male calmly swam near National Geographic Sea Lion, offering excellent photo ops for all of us. A couple of sea otters appeared and received equal photo time.
We landed on George Island for hikes and kayaking as the day continued to amaze us all. Hikes were up-and-down through a forest of hemlocks and spruce, substantially different from yesterday’s hikes at Lake Eva, both from a biological standpoint and because of the rusting WWII canon left in place at the hike’s terminus. On the water, kayakers enjoyed calm conditions to explore the kelp canopy and other areas.
During lunch we transited to the Inian Islands for Zodiac cruising. Again, with clear, sunny skies and calm waters, we viewed several sea lion haulouts, a handful of sea otters, numerous eagles, and stunning scenery. Several of us were given the chance to taste and rate the two most common surface kelps (it was a tie).
The evening concluded with a vivid sunset and huge rising moon.
