A beautiful morning was spent cruising around grounded icebergs calved off of Le Conte glacier. Seals were sighted and some of us even witnessed an iceberg split and roll. We were fortunate and the good weather stayed with us through the day as we cruised towards the small Norwegian fishing town of Petersburg. With many options in Petersburg guests were able to walk through the muskeg bogs or along the docks of the active fishing harbor, and some experienced flying over Le Conte Glacier nearby. The picturesque town was a great way to experience living in Alaska.
8/1/2019
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National Geographic Venture
Baranof Island
After exploring the glaciers and open waters of the northern Inside Passage, we sailed south through the night and returned to the starting point of our journey, Baranof Island. This island, along with Admiralty to the east and Chichagof to the north, is home to one of the highest densities of brown bears in the world. To search for evidence of the bears as they begin their yearly salmon feast and continue our exploration of the temperate rainforest, we anchored in Kelp Bay to kayak and hike the shoreline throughout the morning. Later in the afternoon, we welcomed Dr. Andy Szabo of the Alaska Whale Foundation to learn more about ongoing research taking place in Alaska on the unique bubblenet feeding behavior we witnessed earlier in the trip. Only in Alaska can you experience the forest, salmon, bears, and whales all in one day.