After cruising through the night, we woke to a cloudy and somewhat misty morning as we approached Canada. Clearing customs was quick and easy which gave us an opportunity to visit the museum a short walk away from the ship. As we cruised north in Georgia Strait, the mist ceased to fall, the clouds cleared, and the sun came out making for a most pleasant day indeed!
- Daily Expedition Reports
- 01 May 2017
Nanaimo, B.C. Canada, 5/1/2017, National Geographic Sea Lion
- Aboard the National Geographic Sea Lion
- Alaska
David Jaffe, Naturalist/Certified Photo Instructor
For more than 25 years David Jaffe has guided and taught a variety of audiences about our natural world and our connection with it. His childhood interest in natural systems eventually brought him to Evergreen State College where he earned a B.S. in ...
Read MoreShare Report
Voyage to Alaska, British Columbia and Haida Gwaii
VIEW ITINERARYRelated Reports
4/27/2025
Read
National Geographic Sea Lion
Glacier Bay National Park
The waters surrounding Bartlett Cove were so calm this morning that we could see the reflection of the National Park Visitor Center Lodge on the ocean. Bright and early, we hiked into a magical part of the Tongass National Forest. Although there was a chill in the air, no precipitation came until much later in the day, just before dinner. Soon after our departure from Bartlett Cove, wildlife was all around us! Humpback whales, Steller sea lions, northern sea otters, and tufted puffins all graced us with their presence along South Marble Island. Later, in Geikie Inlet, we spotted not one, but two bears! An American black bear and a coastal brown bear. We came across dozens of goats at Gloomy Knob and even a northern marmot. Margerie Glacier greeted us just before dinner as National Geographic Sea Lion bobbed amongst the ice. What a fantastic day in Glacier Bay National Park.
4/26/2025
Read
National Geographic Sea Lion
Tracy Arm
After a soggy day in Petersburg, we were thrilled to find our day in Tracy Arm flooded with sunshine instead of raindrops. Winding through the labyrinthine fjord is always an adventure this time of year, and we prepared for a veritable wall of frozen icebergs. But the fjord was surprisingly clear until the final bend, where a thick layer of pan ice stopped us in our tracks. Undeterred, we boarded our Zodiacs, crept below the steep cliffs, and prodded into the pan ice perimeter as far as we dared. Several mountain goats watched us from above, and a couple of curious harbor seals followed in our wake, patiently waiting for the pan ice to melt so they can wiggle onto the massive bergs and pup their young. A handful of humpbacks escorted us north through Stephens Passage, along with some blissfully calm water and more of that rare Alaskan sunshine. We have a long sail ahead of us this evening as we motor more than 160 miles toward mystical Glacier Bay.