The Odyssey, on-the-sea, part II. (Alaska)

[Isklaar]

35 minutes ago, rkacruiser said:

 

That bear was one "smart" bear!  After catching the fish, put it on a surface so that it could be held and eaten easily by he/she.  

 

Looking at the rock just to his/her right it looks as if it was perhaps the second salmon of the day.

[shark b8]

2 hours ago, Isklaar said:

 perhaps the second salmon of the day.

At least, probably the 6th or 8th.  We watched them just casually wade in, stick their heads in, and invariably come out with a fish. Over and over.  The profusion of salmon there was amazing, it would be difficult *not* to get a fish.

[shark b8]

 

 

Edited August 8, 2022 by shark b8

[shark b8]

Mama bear demonstrating the tricks of the trade to her cubs.

 

 

[shark b8]

A little tussle between siblings, “Whose fish is this?”.  Nothing serious.

 

 

 

[shark b8]

Captain Sharkbait’s personal taste buds have always held that a great piece of salmon sushi is a virtually perfect bite of food.  These bears sure “get it”!

 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

We’re told that the salmon is so easy for them, that they have the luxury of eating only their favorite parts of the fish, usually the heads and the guts. The rest of the carcass will float downstream to “the lagoon” as it’s called, where bald eagles and other animals have their luxury, of just waiting around for something to float by, and casually grabbing it.

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by shark b8

[shark b8]

(like these guys)

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by shark b8

[shark b8]

So the bottom line is…..we saw more bears than you could shake a stick at, if that’s your idea of a good time (to quote Groucho).   😎🐻

 

[SLSD]

1 minute ago, shark b8 said:

So the bottom line is…..we saw more bears than you could shake a stick at, if that’s your idea of a good time (to quote Groucho).   😎🐻

 

I think this has been a wonderful cruise for you and your wife.  We loved our SB Alaska cruise and I have been reliving it through your posts. 

[shark b8]

(artist’s rendering of Captain Sharkbait at his favorite sushi bar, with salmon and toro on the menu).  😉

 

 

[shark b8]

4 hours ago, Isklaar said:

Looking at the rock just to his/her right it looks as if it was perhaps the second salmon of the day.

…and if any or the carcass doesn’t just float down the river, someone will be along shortly to bus the table.  
 

 

 

 

[shark b8]

1 hour ago, SLSD said:

I think this has been a wonderful cruise for you and your wife.  We loved our SB Alaska cruise and I have been reliving it through your posts. 

Thank you!  Yeah, I confess I had a small voice in the back of my head that said “might have been better to do Alaska before Antarctica, could conceivably be the case that Alaska just can’t be expected to equal Antarctica”.  But the truth is ( for us anyway) they’re just so remarkably different. Nothing can overshadow Antarctica (at least for us) but Alaska is just spectacularly beautiful in far different ways, I now really want to come back again some day.

 

Edited August 9, 2022 by shark b8

[SLSD]

39 minutes ago, shark b8 said:

 Nothing can overshadow Antarctica (at least for us) but Alaska is just spectacularly beautiful in far different ways, I now really want to come back again some day.

 

We also want to return to Alaska.  

[robertmartha]

Shark b8

After following you along....I so want to return to Alaska on a sailing. We were fortunate to do two Alaska sailings quite a few years ago on HAL before we discovered Seabourn. Now that we have discovered Seabourn ...the thought of Alaska + Seabourn is really enticing to us.

 

thank you again (and I won't mention the weather 🤣!)

 

Bob

[SDuckers]

I am loving all your posts SharkB8!  We leave for the Odyssey in 35 days and I can't wait!

[Hipockets]

We won't be leaving till Sept 23 from Juneau. Which tour would you suggest for the bears or is this going to be too late in the year

[shark b8]

3 hours ago, Hipockets said:

We won't be leaving till Sept 23 from Juneau. Which tour would you suggest for the bears or is this going to be too late in the year

I’d hesitate for you to make any decision based on what our experience was, but I’ll just say……the guides generally agreed that, while observing that any one day any time can result in a hit or a miss, the best odds are the last few weeks of July and the first couple of weeks of August.  They said that Sept can be ok, although generally speaking, the earlier the better.  The one we took was out of Wrangell, and called “The Wild Bears of Anan”.

[rkacruiser]

20 hours ago, shark b8 said:

 But the truth is ( for us anyway) they’re just so remarkably different. Nothing can overshadow Antarctica (at least for us) but Alaska is just spectacularly beautiful in far different ways,

 

Alaska and Antarctica are so beautiful in their own ways.  Equal?  Or does one overshadow the other?  Same kind of debate for which there is no correct answer when one speaks of the fjords of Norway, New Zealand's South Island, etc.  

[MHF]

10 hours ago, SDuckers said:

I am loving all your posts SharkB8!  We leave for the Odyssey in 35 days and I can't wait!

Me too!  Headed into Vancouver on the 15th.  Staying onboard for 14 days...2 shots at Glacier Bay.

 

Have bear flight booked for Ketchikan, fingers crossed.

 

Missy in Maryland

[shark b8]

13 hours ago, robertmartha said:

 Now that we have discovered Seabourn ...the thought of Alaska + Seabourn is really enticing to us.

Yeah it’s a great combination of destination and lifestyle.  For some reason I think of that moment in the movie “Arthur”, when the Dudley Moore character is asked “what’s it like to be a millionaire playboy?”, he pauses and says “it doesn’t suck”.   😂

[shark b8]

13 hours ago, robertmartha said:

thank you again (and I won't mention the weather 🤣!

Hey mention the weather all you want!  Both times you did, it was socked in, first thing the next morning, but cleared up and was gorgeous within an hour or two! 

[shark b8]

2 hours ago, rkacruiser said:

Equal?  Or does one overshadow the other?  Same kind of debate for which there is no correct answer when one speaks of the fjords of Norway, New Zealand's South Island, etc.  

Yes, I think this is exactly right.  Might be a tendency to lump all colder-weather destinations into one bucket and try to decide what’s best, which surely is a fool’s errand.  Back to that French judge, re Bordeaux vs Burgundy wine: let’s just keep assembling and considering the evidence. For a long, long time.   😉

[SDuckers]

14 hours ago, MHF said:

Me too!  Headed into Vancouver on the 15th.  Staying onboard for 14 days...2 shots at Glacier Bay.

 

Have bear flight booked for Ketchikan, fingers crossed.

 

Missy in Maryland

We will see you on board!  We are on for the same 14 days.

[shark b8]

more whales:

 

(had to compress video, as it was taking forever to upload full-size files, so vid quality not so good)