Cortez Island
We awoke to a beautiful morning carrying us North out of the Strait of Georgia into Desolation Sound. After breakfast, our Zodiacs carried us ashore for hiking and kayaking in Carrington Bay on the North side of Cortez Island. The rocky shoreline where we staged our morning activities housed hundreds of oysters. Hikers followed a narrow trail under a canopy of Douglas fir and red cedar several hundred feet uphill through second-growth timber. Greeting our hikers at the top of Green Mountain was a lovely meadow scattered with wisps of huddled red alders and several wild apple trees. The forest floor played stage to nature’s symphony. Red squirrels quarreled noisily back and forth in treetops, while the heavy wings of ravens swept the air. Nurse logs supported new life, sprouting sprigs in confused configurations. Slugs littered the trail, and this red-juice tooth fungus (especially common in the Pacific Northwest) greeted the group at the end of the hike.
In the afternoon, the M.V. Sea Bird traveled the narrow waterways of the Penn Islands through Drew Passage and into Calm Channel. Guests sipped peppermint Schnapps and hot cocoa as the ship navigated through a deep, narrow straight named Hole-in-the-Wall. Here, large volumes of water plow through a slight 100-yard gap creating hefty currents. A Zodiac piloted the ship through the channel, scouting for possibly dangerous waters ahead.
The marine park at Octopus Islands provided further wildlife viewing from our Zodiacs. It was a bird-watchers haven, with sightings of a Red-breasted Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Bonneparte Gulls and Harlequin Ducks. A buck and mink were spotted on the shore. In the evening, the ship set sail for Princess Louisa Inlet.
We awoke to a beautiful morning carrying us North out of the Strait of Georgia into Desolation Sound. After breakfast, our Zodiacs carried us ashore for hiking and kayaking in Carrington Bay on the North side of Cortez Island. The rocky shoreline where we staged our morning activities housed hundreds of oysters. Hikers followed a narrow trail under a canopy of Douglas fir and red cedar several hundred feet uphill through second-growth timber. Greeting our hikers at the top of Green Mountain was a lovely meadow scattered with wisps of huddled red alders and several wild apple trees. The forest floor played stage to nature’s symphony. Red squirrels quarreled noisily back and forth in treetops, while the heavy wings of ravens swept the air. Nurse logs supported new life, sprouting sprigs in confused configurations. Slugs littered the trail, and this red-juice tooth fungus (especially common in the Pacific Northwest) greeted the group at the end of the hike.
In the afternoon, the M.V. Sea Bird traveled the narrow waterways of the Penn Islands through Drew Passage and into Calm Channel. Guests sipped peppermint Schnapps and hot cocoa as the ship navigated through a deep, narrow straight named Hole-in-the-Wall. Here, large volumes of water plow through a slight 100-yard gap creating hefty currents. A Zodiac piloted the ship through the channel, scouting for possibly dangerous waters ahead.
The marine park at Octopus Islands provided further wildlife viewing from our Zodiacs. It was a bird-watchers haven, with sightings of a Red-breasted Merganser, Great Blue Heron, Bonneparte Gulls and Harlequin Ducks. A buck and mink were spotted on the shore. In the evening, the ship set sail for Princess Louisa Inlet.
