The morning began cool and drizzly as we settled into our anchorage at Pavlof Harbor. Guests had the opportunity to wander bear trails along beach fringe, through forest and alongside a stream on a variety of naturalist-guided strolls as the weather broke and the sun came out.
Once the site of an old cannery operation, today Pavlof is a popular destination because of its salmon stream, which is just beginning to see the return of salmon for the season. Salmon were seen leaping from the quiet waters of the harbor alongside curious seals. Kayakers circled around islands to look at huge anemones, sea cucumbers, and sun stars. Hikers slogged through mud, scrambling up a rocky outcropping to a lake where they saw a brown bear lurking in the vegetation and an active beaver lodge.
After lunch, Justin Hofman, our undersea specialist, headed down for a “live dive.” Armed with a video camera and mask he could talk into, his dive was piped live on board into the lounge. Guests watched in awe as he descended into the depths, talking excitedly about rockfish perched in their regular hangout spots, the productivity of the phytoplankton, and finally the big surprise: a giant Pacific octopus. Nestled in a rock crevice, the octopus eyed Justin and stretched a few tentacles out to the camera, giving everyone great views of its suction cups and lanky arms. Guests were able to ask Justin a few questions before he came back to the surface.
During the afternoon, National Geographic Sea Lion cruised Chatham Strait looking for wildlife. A handful of frisky Dall’s porpoise ping-ponged around the ship and harbor porpoise quietly rolled past. A few humpbacks were also spotted. Some of the kids had a chance to hang out on the bridge with the second mate to learn about ship operations and the afternoon was wrapped up with a bear presentation by Lee.
After dinner we picked up Andy Szabo, director of the Alaska Whale Foundation. He spent the evening regaling guests with tales of whales, presenting a fantastic program on the humpbacks of Southeast Alaska.
