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Silversea Explorer Nome to Seward August 13-25, 2018-live

RachelG

By RachelG,
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RachelG "Live from...." Rare

RachelG

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August 22, 2018–Castle Bay and Chignik Peninsula, Alaska

 

Haha, JP, very funny.

 

We were up early as the ship sailed into Castle Bay right after sunrise. Tall mountain peaks ahead, some with snow, and a large rock that I guess could look like a castle was to the port side. I saw a couple of waterfalls that would be considered huge most anywhere else. Lots of people were out on deck, but it was pretty cold, even with the sun coming up. I only went out long enough to take a few pictures as I could see plenty fine from inside.

 

By mid morning, we were approaching the fishing village of Chignik. This village is surrounded by high mountains, and accessible only by sea and air. 200 people live here in summer, but only about 90 year round. Things are pretty quiet now as the season has ended. Also living here are about 10 million mosquitoes and a couple of very friendly dogs.

 

We went to shore by zodiac, landing on a rocky beach. We were warned to stay in town, or if going beyond town, to stay in a large group due to bears. The town stretches along the coast for over a mile, but doesn’t really extend up the mountains, which are covered in dense brush and trees. We hiked up to a salmon stream. I only saw a couple of fish, and they were impossible to take a picture of. We did see a bunch of bald eagles. After 2 hours of slapping at mosquitos, we reboarded the ship.

 

During lunch, we cruised to Kak Island. This is known for birds and sea lions. We originally were to do zodiac tours here, but some government agency (not sure which) has decided that is not allowed. No zodiac cruising at all in Alaska from the ship—they can only be used to transport us from the ship to shore and back.

 

Though it had been sunny and not terribly cold in Chignik, by the time we arrived at Kak Island, the clouds had rolled in, and the wind had really picked up. Out on deck, it was pretty cold with a lot of motion from the waves. I couldn’t really see many birds and could see no sea lions as we just couldn’t get very close, so I went inside to avoid freezing. Just not worth staying outside to look at a big rock.

 

At any rate, the other afternoon activity was a bridge tour, and of course, we could not pass that up. It was interesting seeing all the electronic involved, but the captain also pointed out that they still rely on paper charts as well as the computerized ones, and they still have someone standing watch with binoculars at all times.

 

We finished in time for tea (for me) and scones (for George). I am going to miss my afternoon tea.

 

Dinner tonight was excellent. Escargot, porcini mushroom soup, orange and fennel salad and veal filet. Then cherries jubilee and cheese for dessert. George had been complaining about the food on this cruise, but tonight was excellent.

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RachelG "Live from...." Rare

RachelG

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We always said we would go anywhere with Susan on board. Such a lovely gentle person, so knowledgeable and such a good presenter. Please send her regards from Geoff and Frances Firmin (to remind her of who we are say "We are the couple who dressed up for the onboard field trip"! She will laugh. More lovely photos today thank you.

 

I sent Susan your regards today. She just laughed so hard when I told her. Then she told me the whole story. That is hilarious.

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RachelG "Live from...." Rare

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August 23, 2018–Larsen Bay, Kodiak Island, Alaska

 

George has been wanting to visit Kodiak Island for a long time, so today is the day. We awoke to slightly overcast skies with some low mountains covered in trees and bush visible ahead, and a small village directly ahead. Seas around were completely calm. The schedule for today was complex—multiple groups going flightseeing and others hiking. We were to go hiking in the morning and flightseeing in the afternoon.

Here you have to stay in groups due to the real possibility of bears.

 

The zodiac took us to a floating dock. This area is big for halibut sportfishing and salmon commercial fishing. There is a large salmon packing company, and the area appears somewhat more prosperous than the place we visited yesterday. We hiked about a mile to the salmon company where we were met by the staff medic. He and the assistant manager showed us all around. It is a complete village, with store, mess hall, bunk houses, and the factory. Tomorrow is the last day of production, then it will take about a month to shut everything down until it reopens in April. Most people who work here come in just for the season.

 

On our way back, we hiked down to a stream where the salmon are still running. There were some healthy feisty ones going upstream, but lots of ghost salmon, which are the ones that have already spawned and have lost there color because they are dying.

 

In the afternoon, it was our turn to fly. It had been very overcast all day, and I was not optimistic about our wildlife viewing. It looked like it could rain at any time. We boarded our 5 person Cessna sea plane from the floating dock, and were up and away. Things started slowly, but then I spotted a big blonde Kodiak bear in a stream, then 3 more. We got a great view of these, but then the clouds rolled in. Our pilot decided to go in the opposite direction. And we saw many more bears, a total of 12 I think, including one that was running in the water, a bunch of mountain goats, 3 deer, a couple of pairs of swan, and then 3 whales spouting as we flew back. And that doesn’t even include the magnificent scenery.

 

Tonight is the captain’s farewell. I can’t believe this voyage is almost over.

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mrlevin

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Rachel, I have really enjoyed your reports. Although your Russian stops were the same as ours; it was interesting to see them from your viewpoint. As for the Alaskan stops, you have convinced me that I need to get to Dutch Harbor and Kodiak; maybe on a land trip maybe a cruise.

 

Have a great last day and safe travel home.

 

Boomer Sooner!

 

Marc

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RachelG "Live from...." Rare

RachelG

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Rachel, I have really enjoyed your reports. Although your Russian stops were the same as ours; it was interesting to see them from your viewpoint. As for the Alaskan stops, you have convinced me that I need to get to Dutch Harbor and Kodiak; maybe on a land trip maybe a cruise.

 

Have a great last day and safe travel home.

 

Boomer Sooner!

 

Marc

Boomer Sooner, Marc.

 

Dutch Harbor and Kodiak are not to be missed.

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August 24, 2018–Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska

 

We had a leisurely morning with lecture on Fish, by Robin, as we sailed into Kenai Fjords. The sun was very bright. The sea was pretty calm and very little wind, so I was able to get my steps outside on the hamster track.

 

As we ate lunch, we started seeing more and more little islands, rocky but topped with large evergreen trees. The ship stopped, and we boarded the Kenai 360, a large very stable but fast catamaran, one of the most comfortable of this type of boats that I have been on. It had great viewing areas on 3 decks, both inside and outside, with good seating even outside.

 

We took off, first spotting whales which we watched for a while, as well as lots of puffins and cormorants. Then we took off headed to the glaciers. There are several in this park, and we were able to get very close to one which is a mile wide and 800 ft tall, and which is actively calving. We stayed quite a while and saw little pieces of ice breaking off. We heard a lot of big cracking sounds, then just as we were leaving, a huge piece called off. It looked like slow motion, but I of course had put my camera up and my gloves on, so missed the photos.

 

It was really cold near the glacier, obviously, since we were basically sitting in ice water. I had to go inside to warm up, but then some orcas were sighted, so back outside. No good pics of these guys. They are really fast.

 

After 3 1/2 hours, we were back onboard Explorer. And an unfortunate sight—suitcases on the bed. So I went up and had my last teatime, in order to remain in denial as long as possible. Then I returned to the inevitable packing chore.

 

The voyage film featuring my cat hat was shown at 6:30, followed by the last dinner. We arrived at Seward during dinner.

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