Day 7: Sukoi Inlet
It was our last full day with UnCruise and we were determined to make the most of it! My daughter woke up early once again for stretch class. While she and her dad did that, my son and I snuck in some extra snuggle time.
Breakfast was a Sticky Bun French Toast served with a berry compote. The omelet was gouda and jalapeno.
We decided to do a full bushwhack, we were done with the “lite” stuff. It started right after breakfast. Our guide, Bobby, definitely challenged us. We went uphill and downhill, under branches, into creeks and through thick mud. We charged ahead for three hours before finding our way back to shore and hailing a lift back from the skiff. It was a fun adventure and we were glad we pushed ourselves.
We were especially hungry when we arrived back at the ship for lunch. And we were excited by the menu, smash burgers with crinkle cut fries. We had two burgers apiece. But we’d earned it, right?
As we dined, we noticed choppy waters outside our window. Around that time, our Expedition Leader announced over the microphone that the open paddle session for the afternoon was called off. We were bummed that we couldn’t kayak on our last day. Skiba offered us a choice of another bushwhack or a skiff tour. One bushwhack was enough, so we chose to do the skiff tour. It turned out to be a good choice.
By the time we headed out, the winds had calmed. We zipped around looking for wildlife. We saw lots of eagles. At one point, we noticed several bald eagles on the shore eating fish. As we stopped to watch them, a bear came charging towards the water, jumping in to snatch up some fish, too. We used our binoculars to get a better look. He appeared to be a juvenile bear, still a little scrawny, but full of energy. We watched as he fished. After a bit he wandered upstream and out of view. My daughter managed to snap a great photo.
Over happy hour, my daughter showed off her bear photo to several other passengers, telling them all about the exciting sighting. During happy hour, we received instructions on disembarkation in Sitka early the next morning.
It was a special dinner, Captain’s Night. We headed to the dining room and discovered an extra place setting at our table. That’s when we learned we’d be dining with Captain Doug. It was a treat to chat with our captain. He patiently answered all of our questions. Dinner was served family style – prime rib and cedar smoked salmon for the table. Dessert was chocolate mousse. As dinner concluded, the captain shared a few words with the guests thanking us for being a great group of passengers and acknowledging the wonderful kids on board. Then he called out the crew and we gave them a standing ovation for an amazing week.
After dinner, we were treated to a photo slideshow in the lounge. The crew had compiled 300 of the best photos from our voyage. The guides did a great job snapping pictures throughout the week. Just a few days after arriving home, we received a download link for the photos.
We headed to our cabin to get packed up to depart the next day. I went back to the lounge later in the evening for a soda and found several passengers lingering about, seemingly sad that the adventure was coming to an end, swapping contact information.
Click on “8” below to read about disembarkation day.
