Sitka, Alaska

We  had a rough night of rolling seas and there were many sick people but we woke up this morning to sunshine in Sitka. It was absolutely beautiful here and we were picked up at the ship by our tour boat which took us out past the outer islands to see the sea otters, whales and eagles. We saw so much it was hard to tell you all about it. We first saw a few humpback whales and followed and photographed and videoed them and then we saw what was described as a “raft” of sea otters…they are so funny. They kind of lounge on their backs while close together so they look like they are floating on a raft. They are very playful and fun to watch. The gave us binoculars so we could watch them. We saw a few sea lions and then we saw gray whales which they say are rare to see here and it was amazing to see those tails come out of the water when they were diving. The most amazing thing was the bald eagles that were as big as the penguins Debbie and I walked with in Argentina and some are even bigger. They were everywhere here and they pulled into in cove and showed us a nest with a set of parents and we could actually see the baby flapping it’s wings getting ready for it’s first flight. We saw blacktail deer as well. This area on the water reminds me of Ushuaia with the same type of pristine beauty as you can tell from the photos. It was very cold out on the boat but you didn’t want to miss a photo opportunity by staying inside. When they took us back to the pier, we boarded a bus that took us to the bear compound. This is where they take in bears that are sick or have lost their mothers. They have had a bad time with the bears this year. We were told they have already had to put down 3 because they either attacked people or wouldn’t stay where they relocated them. The guide said the bears will tear shingles off houses and buildings to get inside to search for food. These bears are still considered cubs at 3 ½ years old. I don’t want to see what their mother looks like! We have been exhausted so we came back to the ship and grabbed some lunch and took a nap before dinner. The Oosterdam was here today and they had dueling horns when we followed each other out of Sitka tonight. We have been to the show every night and then to the piano bar for about an hour. Kay is already sleeping and I wanted to get this written and posted before I forgot the details. Tomorrow is Skagway and we are doing the Yukon Railway and we need to be on the pier at 7:40 AM. I will post this and catch you up tomorrow.