George Island is where we spent the morning. What unbelievable weather we had! Warm temperatures and sunny skies, plus flat calm seas, made for the perfect day to explore Southeast Alaska.
George Island is a small body of land, situated near Cross Sound, the northernmost opening of the Inside Passage to the Pacific Ocean. The waters here are clear and full of life, and the island is entirely covered by forests, except for the scenic cliffs that fall into the ocean. Here we took hikes through the well-maintained trails all the way up to a viewpoint, which also happens to be a historic site that dates from the time of World War II. There are still lots of remnants of the barracks where soldiers were stationed, and a gun emplacement at a high spot, from where Cross Sound was to be protected from foreign invasions.
We took advantage of the outstanding weather conditions to venture by kayak along the shoreline of George Island. At times we had to remind ourselves that we were in Alaska and not somewhere near the tropics. We had the rare opportunity to paddle around part of the island and get very close to a magnificent rock arch, which are rarely accessible, due to rough seas and thick kelp beds.
After our morning activities we refreshed ourselves by swimming from the pebbly beach. It was not only refreshing, but it was a lot of fun to brave the cold waters of Alaska in such a sunny and warm day.
The second part of the day we spent at the Inian Islands. This set of islands is a wilderness area, and it is one of the most fantastic wildlife hotspots of this area. We embarked our boats to travel through the channels between islands, where the currents flow strongly in and out of the Inside Passage into the Pacific Ocean.
We saw an amazing number of Steller's sea lions, the largest species of sea lion in the world. Sea otters were abundant, and the scenery of the warm clear day was the stage for finding humpback whales and several species of seabirds.
