The day dawned calm albeit overcast and a bit damp but all looked well for comfortable whale watching trip. Breakfast was again fun with Dan - he did our fried eggs and toast, when he brought them out he asked who liked them harder - quick as a flash I said 'John' and the harder one was put before him I then added ' but he doesn't know it yet'. We laughed and he said that was the best reply this year!!! As we were drinking our last cup of tea a black bear and cub appeared on the beach - so I went outside and took a few pictures from the jetty so there was clear water between us - it was a difficult light but watching them was fun as was watching a brown stoat light animal, which turned out to be a mink, running along the shoreline. A bald eagle was also flying around - a great start to the day. We checked out said our goodbyes to Dan and the team and headed to a dock further up the coast where Seasmoke was picking us up. We paid our car parking fee at the office and we could see the sailing boat - under power - making its way across from the island opposite to pick us up.
Our guides were a Canadian sailor of 27 years standing and his enthusiastic Australian partner who hosted the day and pointed out and explained the wildlife. Our first job was to put on very warm over trousers and jackets - which meant even when it was drizzling we didn't notice and stayed dry and toasty warm.
What a difference a day makes it was almost flat calm and this made humpback whale spotting easy which we did while drinking a hot chocolate and eating a freshly made muffin. In fact we were in humpback soup we lost count at around 18 - no breaching today but lots of surface feeding. No orcas today but we saw birds feeding on a herring ball, harbour seals lounging and relaxing (today's photo), sea lions, bald eagles, common mures, rhino auks, harlequin ducks, sooty shearwaters, phalaropes, Brandt's cormorants and a loon. As we sailed around some of the small islands taking in the fantastic scenery and wildlife we ate more freshly baked goody's - scones, cream and jam polished off with a cup of tea - very colonial!
Another great trip - when we were back at dock we had 150 kms or so to drive to Campbell River where we were staying for the next two nights at 'Herons Landing ' in a one bed apartment looking out over the inside passage - we watched some big cruise liners returning from Alaska and some big barges stacked with goods heading off to Alaska. Enroute to Campbell River we stopped at Sayward Junction for a coffee - right beside the cafe was a wood carver - we couldn't resist a lovely bald eagle head carved in cedar. After visiting the shop down the road we accumulated enough cash (as no credit card taken) to purchase it as a lovely memento of our holiday.
Once we had settled into our apartment we did a recce and found where we needed to be at 8 am tomorrow; we then had dinner in a pub/diner in the Marina Mall - fish and chips for John, french onion soup and salad for me - why is french onion soup always so scaldingly hot ? I have yet to have one at cool or medium heat!