After sailing north in Stephens Passage and then Lynn Canal, we reached the town of Haines, Alaska. The offered activities were numerous: float trips down the Chilkat River, bicycling up to Chilkoot Lake, flightseeing over Glacier Bay National Park, or a good hike up to Mount Riley. The town of Haines offered many options as well, from walking about the historic Fort Seward grounds to visiting the local distillery or even a museum. It was a beautiful, breezy yet sunny day in Haines to enjoy whatever tickled your fancy.
9/10/2024
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National Geographic Sea Lion
Pavlof Harbor
The day started with an exciting encounter. Before breakfast we observed a group of bubble-netting humpback whales. It was incredible to see them lunge and hear them breathing at the surface. This was coupled by a glorious pink sunrise. After breakfast we took Zodiac cruises searching for bears near Pavlof Harbor. Even though we did not find any (wildlife is always delightfully unexpected), the scenery was beautiful, and we watched many adorable harbor seals. After thinking the excitement of the day was done, we spotted a large group of whales from a distance. While approaching closer, we realized this group was also bubble-net feeding. Close to the shore, we observed these whales for hours. We even dropped the hydrophone to hear their haunting feeding call before they all lunged at the surface. It was one of the most incredible things any of us had ever witnessed. As if this wasn’t enough, at our sunset recap we got the call that there were killer whales around the ship. It was the most amazing ending to the most amazing day.
