It was a sunny day in Sitka when we arrived, the Nieuw Amsterdam being just one of 3 cruise ships in port at the same time. We and a second ship were docked, while the third and smallest ship was tendering passengers ashore. We had booked an excursion that left from the downtown Sitka museum and visitor Center area so Liz and I went early using the shuttle bus and began to walk around the town of Sitka. Fishing boats abound around Sitka and as we walked along a shore-side trail we kept hearing huge splashes. We looked to see fisherman catching fish and fish leaping out of the water near them.
We visited the science center at the one end of the trail and then came back to wait for excursion. The excursion was on a two deck boat with the lower deck enclosed which allowed us to be warmly inside while approaching rafts of Sea otters floating in the kelp. We heard how the mother otter wraps her baby in bull kelp which anchors to the sea bottom to keep the baby in place while she forages for food. Their dense fur keeps them warm as they do not have blubber. We also saw some small groups of male otters. Then, as we searched for whales, out of nowhere came a male orca with its distinct tall triangular fin. We saw him several times over about 30 minutes—it seemed as if he was almost playing with our boat.
We began to chase multiple whale spouts and for another 30 minutes or so watched humpbacks spouting, backs arching thru the water, and tail flips as they dove again.
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