Early this morning, the Captain of National Geographic Sea Lion and his trusty team of officers navigated through the ancestral home of the Devil Under the Sea–Ripple Rock. This chunk of Earth was a menace to all ships that dared pass through the thin waterway known as Seymour Narrows. ‘Was’ is the key word, as the chunk was blown away by millions of pounds of dynamite some years ago. Now the pass is much easier to navigate, although ships wait for a slack tide to be on the safe side.
After our fight with the devil, we spent the morning hours traversing Blackish Sound. Traveling these protected waters is synonymous with seeing charismatic megafauna–and see them, we did! We were thrilled to see a pair of humpback whales, a mom and calf. Our third mate made a radio call to wake our guests as one of the whales suddenly breached–sending its enormous body two-thirds of the way out of the water. What a FINtastic way to being our day!
The people of Alert Bay welcomed us with open arms. This is the first time that Lindblad and National Geographic Sea Lion have been back to this sacred place since 2019. Needless to say, we were excited! The First Nations people took us in, gave us tours of their amazing museum, and allowed us to walk freely around their village. Cultural sharing was in full swing when they gave us permission to take our guests inside their Big House. Dancing and singing ensued as all generations got into the spirit of telling stories. It was a truly incredible experience that few get to have in today’s world.
