Nanaimo & Exploring the Strait of Georgia, 5/14/2017, National Geographic Sea Bird
Aboard the
National Geographic Sea Bird
Alaska
Today we woke up in Canadian waters on the east side of Vancouver Island in the Strait of Georgia. We headed to the dock in Nanaimo to clear Canadian customs. The day was dedicated to familiarizing everyone with our operations and to prepare for the upcoming photography expedition. The majority of the day was spent cruising north, where we happened to get a surprise visit from a resident pod of orca just off Ballenas Island.
Growing up at the base of the Cascade Mountains in the tiny Oregon town of Sisters meant that Ryder was surrounded by wilderness. A childhood of hiking, fishing, hunting for arrowheads, camping, and upland bird hunting resulted in the outdoors feelin...
After an evening cruising from SG̱ang Gwaay, National Geographic Sea Bird made one last stop this morning in Daajing Giids to drop off our cultural interpreters, DeeDee Crosby and Grace Garvie. At dock, we had two unique opportunities. The first, our daily morning stretch class had the opportunity to meet on land, and second, we welcomed the incredible artisan, Aay Aay, aboard. We were familiar with Aay Aay, who we had met two days prior as an interpreter at the Haida Heritage Center. His specialty is a revival of traditional Haida weaving. During Aay Aay’s time on board, he shared with us his personal story about discovering and mastering his art with spruce root, cedar, and wool weaving. He taught us how to hand spin the warp threads that would be the beginnings of a wool piece. After an artistic morning, we embarked on our journey across Hecate Strait to reach our next destination along our expedition, Alaska. This evening, I write as we make our way into Dixon Entrance preparing to wake up to the scenery of the famed Misty Fjords in the morning.
We awoke to a blanket of calm in the air. A thin fog, blueish light, placid water, and the sights of sleepy boats in the harbor were the archetypical backdrop for the beauty of Haida Gwaii. Our expedition took us off National Geographic Sea Bird to the Haida Heritage Center. Here we had the privilege to be guided through the museum to get a closer look at the art, livelihood, totem poles, and the beauty of the Haida way of life. What we witnessed gave us a small taste of the wonder the Haida have maintained for generations. The afternoon took us deeper into the island, to the rainforests in the interior. Our forest walks took us to the Spirit Lakes where we witnessed the splendor and deep biodiversity among old growth western red cedar and Sitka spruce. Today was both for land and sea, with our undersea team scuba diving at a nearby island and naturalists showing guests the invertebrate life up close that we had been sharing space with on the dock. As the day comes to close, I write from open waters as we make our way south to the island of SG̱ang Gwaay.
We enjoyed sunny skies this morning at anchorage in Tenedos Bay, Desolation Sound. Our first full day started ashore with hikes of various difficulties, including a long hike that traversed the island. Kayak and Zodiac tours explored the bay, viewing birds and harbor seals hauled out on rocks. The afternoon was filled with sunbathing and looking for wildlife. Spirits were high as National Geographic Sea Bird transited north searching for charismatic megafauna on our way to Alert Bay.
