Le Conte Bay, Petersburg, and Thomas Bay
Nothing stops us from viewing wildlife, not even the time of day! At 0200 we thought we were dreaming when we heard the soft voice of our expedition leader, Tom Ritchie, announce that there were killer whales off the bow of the ship! As we scrambled sleepily onto the deck, we were stunned by what awaited us: because they were so close to the ship, we could hear their blows, and soon realized we didn’t even need our binoculars to see them! We were surrounded by a group of approximately 24 whales and as we watched these “guardians of the sea,” (as they are known to the native Alaskans) they rolled, slapped their flukes, and spyhopped. As we ogled orcas at such an outrageous hour, we could even hear their squeaks and whistles above the water, something that rarely happens!
After breakfast we boarded the Zodiacs and set out to explore among the maze of icebergs that appeared in every imaginable shape and size at the entrance to Le Conte Bay. These exquisite icebergs were carved to perfection and glistened in the warm bright sunlight. Our Zodiacs were dwarfed in this incredible icy scenery (above photo).
During the afternoon we explored the fishing town of Petersburg, located on Mitkof Island. Originally settled in 1897, this town has salmon, crab, and shrimp canneries and a great variety of fishing boats. Some of us took a short Zodiac cruise to Kupreanof Island where we explored a beautiful muskeg that was in such complete contrast to the vegetation we have become familiar with in the Tongass National Forest. We learned of the many interesting adaptations the bog plants have to their acidic environment. Others strolled through town, or went flight-seeing from floatplanes and helicopters and were thrilled to see the icy scenery from such a spectacular perspective. We all felt truly blessed with what we have experienced in this wild place and eagerly await tomorrow’s adventures.
