Idaho Inlet, Inian Island & George Island
Painted on the placid waters of Idaho Inlet, a raft of sea otters attended to their morning toiletry. Furry faces were freshly scrubbed and fluffed. The dining room table-tummies were thoroughly groomed and spotless as well. These are important matters to attend to when the insulative quality and density of your fur is key for living and thriving in the cold waters of Southeast Alaska. We kept pace with one otter as it powered itself on its back with just its tail. The hind feet were large floppy paddles idly sticking up out of the water.
Humpback whales started to pop up all around us, geysers of fine mist exploded skyward, the picedian miasma of whale breath drifted across our bow, overall a rather aromatic aroma, memorable for its delicate fishy quality.
Centrifugal force comes to the aid of Steller sea lions when they catch a big fish. Bringing the fish to the surface, the sea lions shake their heads and fling the fish violently from side to side. We witnessed a half fish on the fly as a chunk skittered across the water, one sizable slab nearly landed in a Zodiac! Glaucous wing gulls keyed into this activity and congregated all around the sea lion, attempting to pilfer a tasty airborne morsel.
Swirling and spinning with the incoming tide, Lee found a yelloweye rockfish (sometimes erroneously called a red snapper) floating around. We approached it with our Zodiacs and looked into its inflated google eyed expression of perpetual surprise, slightly surprised ourselves at the brilliant color and inflated eye sockets.
A balmy summer day, slack water and kayaks supplied the ingredients for a perfect afternoon. With the warmth of the sun on our faces, we paddled around the protected shoreline of George Island. Climbing the undulating hills, combing the sandy and cobble beaches, admiring the sweeping vistas and listening to the expulsions from a colony of sea lions occupied the remainder of our time ashore.
From a softer palette, the evening sky grayed and slightly blushed into sunset, ending an enchanting day in Southeast Alaska.
Here’s a poem from one of our guests:
Sea Lion, by Michael Chen (age 12)
Sea Lion
Relative of the seal
Swimming, eating, fighting, sleeping, scratching, snatching
Joy overflows the heart when with sea lions
Interesting mammals.
