Bay of Pillars & Exploring
Early this morning the reflection on the mirror-like waters was magnificent. We were sailing on the west side of Kuiu Island, heading towards Bay of Pillars. Before breakfast we could see a number of sea otters breaking the water’s surface not too far from the bow of the National Geographic Sea Bird.
Zodiac cruising was the first activity of the day. Many forest-covered islets form channels, where we explored from our boats. The low tide attracted minks to the shorelines looking for invertebrates to eat, and thousands of anemones were exposed with the low tide. Sea stars and a great variety of edible algae, some of which we got to try, were also visible on the steep walls.
Exploring Kuiu Island by foot was our next adventure. We disembarked our Zodiacs on the rocky shoreline and made our way into the old growth forest. The striking beauty of the majestic trees and soft mosses was combined with a feeling of us being guests in this place, which is home to the brown bears and countless creatures.
Bear tracks, scats, trails, and all kind of evidence was found, which reminded us of how pristine this ecosystem is. Traveling to Southeast Alaska, more than traveling in distance, is traveling in time. Here it is still the good old days, where wildlife is plentiful, where the forests are still healthy, and where our spirits are wild and free.
Sailing through Chatham Strait, we had some humpback whale sightings and some sporadic Dall’s porpoises dashing through the water’s surface here and there. As we approached Admiralty Island, we had a couple distant sightings of coastal brown bears. Just to put this in perspective, Admiralty Island has more brown bears by itself, than the entire lower 48 states of the United States together. When we talk about superlatives related to nature, we are talking about Southeast Alaska.
Early this morning the reflection on the mirror-like waters was magnificent. We were sailing on the west side of Kuiu Island, heading towards Bay of Pillars. Before breakfast we could see a number of sea otters breaking the water’s surface not too far from the bow of the National Geographic Sea Bird.
Zodiac cruising was the first activity of the day. Many forest-covered islets form channels, where we explored from our boats. The low tide attracted minks to the shorelines looking for invertebrates to eat, and thousands of anemones were exposed with the low tide. Sea stars and a great variety of edible algae, some of which we got to try, were also visible on the steep walls.
Exploring Kuiu Island by foot was our next adventure. We disembarked our Zodiacs on the rocky shoreline and made our way into the old growth forest. The striking beauty of the majestic trees and soft mosses was combined with a feeling of us being guests in this place, which is home to the brown bears and countless creatures.
Bear tracks, scats, trails, and all kind of evidence was found, which reminded us of how pristine this ecosystem is. Traveling to Southeast Alaska, more than traveling in distance, is traveling in time. Here it is still the good old days, where wildlife is plentiful, where the forests are still healthy, and where our spirits are wild and free.
Sailing through Chatham Strait, we had some humpback whale sightings and some sporadic Dall’s porpoises dashing through the water’s surface here and there. As we approached Admiralty Island, we had a couple distant sightings of coastal brown bears. Just to put this in perspective, Admiralty Island has more brown bears by itself, than the entire lower 48 states of the United States together. When we talk about superlatives related to nature, we are talking about Southeast Alaska.
