Since we passed Cape Caution, time has slipped away. We've travelled 224 miles. And are almost to the northern end of British Columbia. The scenery has been breathtaking. The aloneness palpable. The natural rhythms of nature as it awakens to spring and the creatures that live here (both human types and non-human) are a delight to appreciate.
Snowcapped peaks in Fitz Hugh Sound
I've been listening to John Muir's "Travels in Alaska" as I'm at the helm, and I have to turn it off because it is just too much awesomeness to soak in. Heading out of Fitz Hugh sound, we stopped at Codville Lagoon Bay, this is a natural saltwater lagoon, we had limited success fishing for prawns.
We continued to Shearwater (Bella Bella) and got some quick provisions, fried food and fuel. This is a fun little village with a store, marine supply, pub and variety store. There was a man walking down the dock on a work conference call, before the water taxi picked him up to take him back to the airport and back home. Been there, done that!
And then, as we headed further north the mountains became bigger, and there seems to be a humpback at every corner. We were joking that the whale reporting app was going to cut me off or give me 'frequent reporting' points. One very special morning, as we were headed out early to catch the tides north, we came across a sleeping whale. I thought it was a log but it moved! We had stopped our forward motion, so we just sat next to it and it would take a breath every so often and pretty much ignore us. So after awhile, we thought we should carry on or we might have been there for awhile. I'm not sure how long a whale sleeps. (see below for sleeping whale, snore...)
The other night at Bishop Bay Marine Park (and hot springs), as we were playing our daily dose of cribbage (got to keep those math skills up), several whales came within ~500 feet of our anchored boat. It is a steep too anchorage, so we were stern tied in 100' and the whales where in about 500'. When we set our shrimp pots, all we got was krill -- so the eating must be good for these giants.
There have been several days in the last week where we have not seen ANY other humans/boats -- except for one boat on the AIS that was about 10 miles away, and then disappeared. The mountains are towering over us at usually over 800 meters. And it isn't just that there are no boats, but there might not be anyone passing by for another week. It is an adjustment getting used to the aloneness, to the quiet, to the sound of birds wings as they flap overhead.
However, the routine is becoming more normal. We wake up, pick up the crab pot/shrimp pot, we travel 30 miles (Jeanne at the helm taking photos of everything and tracking sleeping whales and Dan works), we drop the crab pot/shrimp pot/or fish, we play cribbage, we explore the anchorage and we plan the next day -- we are exhausted. Then repeat. I'm amazed how all this fresh air makes me so exhausted and yet energized at the same time.
I think we are both appreciating that we have the benefit of starlink to call our friends and family if we want. It is hard to imagine what it would have been like to explore these areas hundreds of years ago, and the isolation that sailors must have felt.
This week we are returning into the world of the humans. We saw a small cruise ship today, the first one. We saw 4 other boats. (But we also saw 4 whales)...
Feeling awe inspired this week, Onward.
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