Sunny days in the summer in this part of Alaska are both exquisite and rare. So you can imagine our delight when we opened the curtains this morning to a blue sky graced with a few fluffy white clouds. We were anchored in Takatz Bay, nestled within a deep steep-sided bowl. Our ship had declared this to be “Two Braids Tuesday” and invited everyone with sufficient hair to arrange it in double braids in celebration. Several members of our group were able to partake.

The shelter here meant that we could kayak freely around the bay without a guide, exploring the rocky coves and small islands. Several tall cascades tumbled down the sides of the bowl, and in the water below terns could be seen catching fish and then fighting over the spoils. A few seals swam about in the shallows, poking their heads up from time to time as seems to be their nature.

In the afternoon we split up. Susannah and Franklin went on a second bushwhacking tour, which turned out to be extremely different from yesterday’s example. After taking a quick skiff ride to shore, their group trekked up the side of the bowl aiming for a mountain lake. The journey included short steep slopes, thickly forested hillsides, occasional clearings with stunning mountain views, spongy footings, and even some snowy grottos. They found themselves grasping on roots and branches to help pull themselves up the inclines and prevent themselves from sliding down the declines. The experience was unexpectedly exhilarating – rubber boots for the win again!

Meanwhile, Nick and the rest of our crew went on a skiff tour that found a whale feeding in the shallows and followed it for quite some time. Unlike the whales from the day before, this one didn’t make any tails-up deep dives. Instead it seemed almost to be scratching its back on the rocks, rolling around and raising flippers into the air from time to time. We saw one or two examples of lunge feeding, where it lifted most of its head out of the water while rushing forward to take a big gulp.

In late afternoon we weighed anchor again to head to a new location for the night. However, after dinner the ship’s crew had a surprise in store: Entering into a narrow inlet that required navigating several tricky pinch points, the captain took us to a Red Bluff Bay, where a lively 600-foot waterfall plunges into the water. The ship has an open bridge policy, and we took advantage of this to watch the captain as he piloted the ship skillfully past all the obstacles. When we reached the waterfall, he was able to hold the bow of the ship right up close to the base of the falls, near enough that we could feel the spray of mist coming off the cascade. After a time spent watching the falls, we retraced our steps out to more open water to make for our next anchorage. As we sailed (listening to a presentation on bears and their habits), the setting sun illuminated the distant mountains across the water.