Inside Passage (1 of 2)
A fantastic and amazing trip, offered by Lindblad / National Geographic! It was great being on the National Geographic Sea Lion, a small(ish) ship that could get into places where the big cruise ships can't go. Lindblad also gets folks out in Zodiacs for exploration, and to shuttle us to land for hikes and kayaking. And it was especially great to have four very accomplished and knowledgeable naturalists on board (and on the hikes!) Big kudos to Doug Gualtieri, Tom Ritchie, John Kernan, and William Lopez-Forment for making the whole experience especially rewarding. Finally, big thanks to Stephanie Martin, the trip leader, who with much grace kept all things running smoothly.
Also, the folks on the tour (58 people, I believe) were very good company. Dinner on the ship was at tables that seated six, or eight. And folks tended to rotate around, so we had the opportunity to talk with many interesting ship-mates (many of whom were quite well traveled!).
Oh, and the food was fantastic, too!
Links to each day's Daily Expedition Report -- prepared by the Lindblad naturalists -- are included below.
Quick Links for our Inside Passage Trip
Inside Passage, 1 of 2 (this page)
Juneau - June 5
Tracy Arm & Williams Cove - June 6
LeConte Glacier & Petersburg - June 7
Inside Passage, 2 of 2 (the next page)
Port Houghton & Frederick Sound - June 8
Inian Islands & Fox Creek - June 9
Glacier Bay National Park - June 10
Pavlof Harbor - June 11
Sitka - June 12
Met up with our cruise group at noon, then off via bus to the Mendenhall Glacier.
On to the Sea Lion at 5:00 pm, for dinner, and then back out to Juneau, and then back on the ship by 10:30, which set sail shortly thereafter.
The day began with kayaking in Williams Cove, followed by hikes in the woods nearby. (With everyone making lots of "go away bear" noises as we walked!)
Then up into Tracy Arm, a magnificent glacial fjord. The farther we went, the more floating ice we saw: icebergs (big), "bergy bits" (medium) and "growlers" (small), all coming off Sawyer Glacier. And many seals and brand new seal pups out on the floating ice.
A Pigeon Guilllemot, taking off.
Here's a link to the Lindblad Daily Expedition Report, for a more detailed narrative of the day's sights and activities.
Today the boat anchored off of LeConte Glacier, and we took a Zodiac trip among the many "bergy bits" that had recently come off the glacier. The ice is beautiful! (Can't get too close, as these things can roll suddenly. But close enough to be entranced by these beautiful things.)
Then we docked in Petersburg (the southernmost point on our trip), explored the town, and then took a hike (starting from across Wrangell Narrows) through a beautiful forest and up to a muskeg, which is a particular type of bog.
Sea Lions in the harbor near Sitka.
A view of the muskeg (a bog) near Sitka.
In the evening, we were treated to wonderful sunset Humpback Whale views.
Here's a link to the Lindblad Daily Expedition Report for June 7.