Normally, I am not an early morning person, to put it mildly. But when I heard our ship’s captain quietly announcing over the public address system (speakers in every room) that if we wanted to get up, we had the opportunity to enjoy a pod of humpback whales feeding near the ship, I was up and out with my camera in hand in record time. Of course, my friends Charles and Adele were already there enjoying their coffee while watching.

It was an awesome sight. Sea birds were all over the place. The whales were breaching as they cruised through the waters, diving down while their flippers jutted into the air and just having a good morning eating in the rich waters of the Alaskan fjords.

After our early morning whale watching while still in Tracy Arm, our ship headed to our new day’s adventure in Windham Bay.


UnCruise offers multiple options for each day’s adventures depending on what passengers feel like doing. Some days there were even two separate activities possible, for morning and afternoon. My two favorite things to do were sea kayaking and bushwhacking. For those who don’t want to do as much but still get off the ship, UnCruise offers shoreline walks with a guide. For this morning, while others took off in their kayaks from the back of our ship, I chose to do some bushwhacking.

Alaska is, to put it simply, wet. One has to supply their own rain gear (rain coats and pants recommended) while the cruise line supplied wader boots if we did not have our own. You quickly appreciate the boots and rain gear the first time you leave the ship! For this day, our skiff put us ashore where a creek entered the fjord’s waters. Walking along the stream as we headed to the bush, we encountered many salmon fish heads. It was the end of the salmon run that the bears love so much. It turns out that the bears will go after the fish brains due to their super high nutrient levels, especially early in the season when the salmon are so abundant. As the season progresses and the salmon count drops, the bears will also enjoy the fish body too as an additional snack, leaving just the fish head skeletons that we were finding.

One thing to note is that, even with the super-dense vegetation, the topsoil is relatively thin. But with all the rain, things just grow. Bushwhacking is well named as one has to pick their way through the dense undergrowth, and if not careful, the bush can whack you back a good one if you are too close to the person in front of you. In other words, bushwhacking translates to ‘whacked by a bush’.

Everything is covered - the ground, tree branches, everything. Moss and lichen and ground cover are everywhere. As for the different types of mushrooms - wonderful shapes and delicious colors (but don’t eat!).


For the afternoon adventure, I chose to kayak.

If you think seeing a bald eagle is exciting, wait until you see great numbers of them just hanging out along the shoreline in the trees. Everywhere we looked in one stretch, bald eagles were sitting on all the branches with some branches holding 2 or 3 birds. I understand that the waters of the Alaskan Inside Passage, with their high nutrient content, end up bringing in massive loads of fish. Therefore, you have an all-you-can-eat smorgasbord for bald eagles.

As we headed further along in our kayaks, we went around a corner, approaching a small rocky beach covered with white shorebirds. In unison, the birds all took to the air in an amazing coordinated lift and fly operation. It almost felt like it was a computer simulation; it was so beautifully done. As we left the shoreline, the birds once again started to drift back down as if nothing had happened.

Our kayaking guide then took us around a small island and paddled partway up a stream surrounded by thick trees. But then it was time to head back into the open water to return to our ship. During our final paddle, in the distance, clouds drifted across the water, making it a magical ending to our explorations for the day.

Once we were back on board, cleaned up, and warm, our ship headed out to the next day’s adventure as we enjoyed the sun setting across the water. Another full day with a welcome meal and lecture ahead.