A more relaxed start to the day today, we are on a wildlife spotting trip in the afternoon so time for freshly prepared scrambled eggs with smoked salmon and trout for breakfast
Today we are in Sitka, the state capital before that moved to Juneau. This has a long history of occupation, from First Nation settlements, then New Archangel, the base for the Russian American company, then Sitka, the site of the transfer ceremony when the US purchased Alaska in 1867 for $7.2M.
The Russian influence is still evident in the not very imposing Cathedral of Saint Michael
Today has seen the welcome return of sunshine and warmth. Here I am watching what we think are sealions feeding in the waters of Sitka Channel. We are waiting to board a boat to go and look for Sea Otters, and other local wildlife
A brown bear walking along the shoreline
Sealions enjoying a snooze in the sunshine
Sea Otters, visible as dark specks in the surf, swimming in the sea. We have also seen humpback whales and bald eagles on this trip
Fishing boats laying out circular nets which are then drawn in to capture the salmon
Our trip is running late, which is a bonus as we are delivered directly back to our cruise ship rather than having to board a tender boat
Enjoying the late afternoon sun as we cruise towards tomorrow's destination, the Hubbard glacier
Tonight promises to have the clearest sky of our trip so far and we head to deck 12, the outside observation deck at 11.30pm and huddle under blankets and every layer of clothing that we possess hoping to witness something of the Perseid meteor shower
'Clearest sky' is a somewhat relative term.... there is a lot of cloud around, but it is a thin layer and there are breaks allowing us to observe the stars in the clear Alaskan sky. In 90 minutes of watching I manage to see two shooting stars
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