Pavlof Harbor, Chatham Strait & Icy Strait

We are in Southeast Alaska, where typical ‘temperate rainforest’ weather welcomed us with cool temperatures, overcast skies and a light drizzle. Before breakfast, we watched two humpback whales swimming near Admiralty Island.

As National Geographic Sea Bird entered Pavlof Harbor, we sighted a brown bear on a beach, and quietly observed it. Soon thereafter, we went ashore on the other side of the cove. We walked next to a creek and into the forest, using a trail well-trodden by bears. Kayakers paddled into the mouth of the creek, while birds sang in the forest and a very gentle rain fell. Some kayakers watched a bald eagle fly down to the water, towards a merganser safeguarding her four tiny ducklings. The ‘underdogs’ survived and the eagle went hungry.

As the tide fell, we investigated the rich intertidal zone, and its assortment of clams, barnacles, sea stars, hermit crabs, limpets and anemones. We only had to peek beneath small rocks to discover various fishes and many tiny sea stars. It seemed impossible to avoid stepping on the small, abundant intertidal critters . . . they were everywhere! Across the cove, kayakers watched a brown bear as it walked the length of the beach. They kept pace with it as it walked the shoreline, and got spectacular views.

The rest of the afternoon we cruised Chatham Strait. We found another brown bear on the shoreline. In the water, Dall’s porpoises surfaced by ones and twos, and occasionally they swam at the ship’s bow. Humpback whales were seen now and then, and one of them breached repeatedly off in the distance.

By dinner’s end we had reached Point Adolphus, and our day ended with magnificence and magic. More than 15 humpback whales surfaced near the ship, and two groups of whales swam in synchrony. We listened to them breathe; the mist from their blows hung in the still air, illuminated by the setting sun’s golden light. When they dove, their backs arched gracefully as their tail flukes lifted out of the water, then slipped beneath the sea. Surrounded by whales at sundown, we were overwhelmed, overjoyed and grateful.