Frederick Sound/Petersburg
Traveling through Frederick Sound, we awakened to the swooshing sound of humpback whales breathing while they were feeding just off the bow of our ship. The morning was mystical with fog swirling in the background. We were totally surrounded by three (or more) dozen whales, too many to count! It was a beautiful way to start the day.
Dr. Fred Sharpe, whale biologist and researcher from the Alaska Whale Foundation, came aboard to share his research on the humpback whale. As a founding member of AWF, he has been studying these whales every summer for the last eighteen years.
After lunch, we arrived in Petersburg, “Alaska’s Little Norway”, a small fishing town known for it’s Norwegian heritage. Several of us decided to hike up to a muskeg in the Tongass National Forest. We were rewarded with views of a very different landscape: carpets of spongy sphagnum moss, twisted dwarf shore pines, and carnivorous sundews. Other recreational opportunities were a helicopter tour to the Patterson Glacier, float plane sightseeing, and a tour of a local salmon cannery.
The day was not over. Captain Kalbach entertained and informed us with a recap about humpback whale songs. Our hotel manager, Judie Blewitt, instructed us in how to consume the feast of crab that awaited us at dinner and provided a hilarious description of the varieties of crab eating types. The day ended with a spectacular sunset and anticipation of what the next day would bring.
Traveling through Frederick Sound, we awakened to the swooshing sound of humpback whales breathing while they were feeding just off the bow of our ship. The morning was mystical with fog swirling in the background. We were totally surrounded by three (or more) dozen whales, too many to count! It was a beautiful way to start the day.
Dr. Fred Sharpe, whale biologist and researcher from the Alaska Whale Foundation, came aboard to share his research on the humpback whale. As a founding member of AWF, he has been studying these whales every summer for the last eighteen years.
After lunch, we arrived in Petersburg, “Alaska’s Little Norway”, a small fishing town known for it’s Norwegian heritage. Several of us decided to hike up to a muskeg in the Tongass National Forest. We were rewarded with views of a very different landscape: carpets of spongy sphagnum moss, twisted dwarf shore pines, and carnivorous sundews. Other recreational opportunities were a helicopter tour to the Patterson Glacier, float plane sightseeing, and a tour of a local salmon cannery.
The day was not over. Captain Kalbach entertained and informed us with a recap about humpback whale songs. Our hotel manager, Judie Blewitt, instructed us in how to consume the feast of crab that awaited us at dinner and provided a hilarious description of the varieties of crab eating types. The day ended with a spectacular sunset and anticipation of what the next day would bring.
