Inian Islands & Fox Creek

We awoke to a wonderful eerie world. As we sailed along the Inian Islands everything in our world became quieter and more serene. The islands appeared and disappeared slowly as we went by them, few birds were seen flying in this fog. Eventually we found our anchorage amidst these islands. Immediately after breakfast we were already out seeking wildlife and adventure on our Zodiacs. The first animals we saw were the interesting sea otters, large members of the weasel family, floating on their backs. These animals live among the large bull kelp. They use these plants as a magnificent place to find food, principally sea urchins!

A short distance later we were among a group of scattered sea lions. Some of them were playing but most were searching for food: salmon! As we watched, a large male came up with a large salmonid in its mouth too large to swallow. It shook the fish in the air back and forth until it broke in two pieces. One was immediately swallowed, a few seconds later the other was recuperated and swallowed. A number of gulls flew around the scene, eating small pieces of offal and flesh.

Great numbers of seabirds flew around the area, some landed on a large rock that also harbored a number of male sea lions. Yes, when one smells the scene, you know there is wildlife!

Around the corner we found a series of pigeon guillemots, beating their wings quickly to take flight. Once airborne, they flew, showing us their red feet! Suddenly we saw in the foggy distance the blows of whales, a decent number. We went to the scene, and from afar could count up to seven animals in one group, all diving and coming up for air repeatedly, very close to the rocky cliffs. These animals showed no fear of land. A second group had the marvelous opportunity of seeing orcas, also called killer whales! An animal not easy to see in any waters of the world!

After lunch on the ship, we repositioned to Fox Creek, where we kayaked and engaged in a series of hikes through the forest. The beach area was very interesting botanically, we were lucky to see a number of seabeach groundsels in bloom! The genus of this member of the aster family is Senecio, the largest known genus in the world (1500 species)!