The early morning hours were filled with sunshine hitting the decks and warming stretchers who gathered to participate in the yoga stretch class. As we approached our anchoring spot at Pavlof Harbor, inhabitants of National Geographic Sea Lion made signs of waking, sipping hot coffee and tea, and readying for the daily adventure.
The morning was filled with kayaking around the small inlets viewing waterfalls, an occasional harbor seal, and nesting eagles soaring in the trees. The hikers saw signs of a beaver lodge, a red-breasted sapsucker, a mink and goldeneye birds. Some extremely lucky inflatable cruisers saw two coastal brown bears patrolling the shoreline and most likely foraging for food at the low tide line. The sun peeked out of the clouds but the weather gave us some glorious liquid sunshine also, as Southeast Alaska is always unpredictable in this manner.
The afternoon was off to a great start with a fabulous lunch and global gallery by the hotel staff. Under the direction of Erasmo Estripeaut, they made sure all beautifully hand-crafted gifts were able to be “found” by each admirer. There were sightings of humpback whales and Dall’s porpoises as we made our way further to enjoy the moment of the grand waterfall nearing sunset. The sunshine continued throughout the afternoon and deck dwellers could enjoy a quiet moment basking in the sun or reading. David Stephens gave a presentation on native art and culture that lured more than a few indoors.
The recap of the events brought our amazing day to a close as our undersea specialist, Paul North, showed images of sea stars, nudibranchs and sable fish. It was truly remarkable. This and other sentiments proved that today was an experience for memories, one words could not bring to justice.
