DAY 4: Hannus Bay, Lake Eva & Kasnyku Bay
You guessed it, we woke up early for another 7 a.m. stretching class. To be honest, we considered skipping it. All of the activities the previous day really wore us out, but we didn’t want to break our streak.
Breakfast was tasty. I had pork belly served with eggs, potatoes, and a tortilla. The other choice was a chorizo omelette.
Our excursions started right away. Options for the morning included a vigorous hike, moderate hike or interpretative trail hike; we chose the moderate hike. We got to hike on one of the few actual trails that we saw the whole week. It was a national forest service trail near Lake Eva. A skiff took us to shore, we waded a few feet into the water and then walked up a rocky beach, enjoying the satisfying sound of seashells crunching under our boots. Our hike took us through a forest to an estuary. Then we had our first bear sighting of the week! We were all excited to get a look. From a considerable distance, we saw a mama bear and cub feeding on fish in the water. The guides put safety first, making sure that no group got too close by using their radios to keep each other informed of the family’s whereabouts.
After arriving back on the ship, it was soon time for lunch – a deconstructed nacho with ropa vieja. We had a yummy coconut cake for dessert.
Then the day took an unexpected – but exciting – turn. The ship was headed to its next destination in Hanus Bay. We had an afternoon of water activities planned. But as we began our journey, we encountered a group of humpbacks bubble-net feeding! Bubble-net feeding describes when a group of whales works together to feed – diving down into the water, spiraling to the surface, and pushing fish upwards to eat. It’s pretty spectacular. Rather than go forward as planned, the captain made an executive decision to stay with the whales.
We watched the humpbacks for several hours. At times, they swam within a few feet of our ship. The whales were so close that we could see, hear, and feel their splashing. Although we watched it happen several times, whenever the whales surfaced, the crowd couldn’t help but gasp in awe. Most of the crew was on the viewing deck, too, taking photos and explaining what we were seeing. It was a memorable experience for all. This proved to be another benefit of the small ship cruising. The captain could change course on his whim to chase wildlife. Trust me, there were no complaints from the passengers.
Next stop: a waterfall. Again, the small ship allowed us to get so close, you could hear and smell the waterfall from the bow of the ship.
All of the whale watching drained our camera batteries and worked up our appetites just in time for happy hour and dinner. One of the expedition guides offered a timely, post-dinner presentation on whales.
The boat paused for a bit, and we saw the sun go down over a hillside. Even though it was late, many guests were out in their pajamas watching the gorgeous sunset.
KidTripster Tip: On most nights, passengers retired to their rooms between 9 and 10 p.m. The bar in the lounge stayed open until 10, but some passengers hung out chatting or playing cards past that time. Although there’s a small selection of games on board, it’s worth packing a deck of cards or small travel games that your family likes to play. People laid claim early to certain favorites – like the set of dominoes or the one Yahtzee game on board.
Although we were physically tired, we sometimes weren’t quite ready to go to sleep. The ship has a library of DVDs available to borrow. Our cabin TV had a DVD player. The ship’s DVD selection was interesting, ranging from box sets of random TV shows to a large selection of 90s movies. Most nights, we were too tired to watch a whole movie, but my daughter enjoyed selecting vintage films for us to watch together like the original 1987 Overboard movie.
