Sunday in Sitka is slower than other days. In the morning it is raining pretty hard, but later it just rains kind of hard. I wander town and shops until I can board the Sea Bird at 5:00. While walking, I spot two people in National Geographic fleece jackets, and introduce myself to Pete and Gretchen Peterson, two naturalists on the boat, who are also killing time in town. Near the dock is the Larkspur Cafe where I stop for lunch and hang out for a while listening to a table of musicians jamming on guitar, stand up base, and mouth organ. That eats some time, but Larkspur closes at 2 and there is still three hours to kill until 5 finally comes and I am the second person to check in. Everyone on-board finally and crew introductions lead to cocktails, then casting off down the channel to the north.
Two days on the Sea Bird blend together into morning/afternoon activities on zodiac, kayak, or walking in the shore
. A couple of days establishes a relaxed routine of sign up sheets, dressing in raingear and boots, and boarding zodiacs for heading out. On shore the forests are wet and boggy and I am glad that I paid attention to all the trip literature that talked about the need for BOOTS in capital letters. I have bought a pair of Extratuff knee high boots in Sitka and I am dry in ankle deep mud and water. As we head north there are more and more humpback whales and one group gives a fine show of breaching at sunset on Monday.
Tuesday morning I am up at 6, thinking it is 7 because I didn't reset my bedside clock. I open my cabin door to find that the ship has pulled in near a group of maybe 15 sea otters, who are relaxing and dining on clams and crabs. I have never seen a group this large before. In the morning, I go out on a zodiac with Gretchen for a two hour trip around the Inian Islands, close to an inlet from the Pacific that produces amazing tides and currents that stir up all manner of food for sea lions, sea otters, eagles and whales.
It is quite a show. We cut the engine to drift quietly past a large group of sea lions on the shore. Peaceful, until a sea lion surfaces about two feet behind me with a loud exhale that sends the man next to me three feet in the air. Whales spouting in the distance come our way and surprise us by by passing between us and the shore, about 50 yards away.
The side of the island is so steep that the whales must be 20 feet from the shore. I can't wait to post all the action through the ship's satellite internet link - only problem is that the link is broken if the ship is pointing north. We've been heading north for two days now. More later
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