We woke to partly cloudy skies and no fog. Crossing the Gulf of Alaska was unusually smooth, the crew members said.

We started the morning with a presentation about bears. Again, we learned a lot. You never know how ignorant you are if you stop learning.

We were closer to land, and the seas were calm. We were surrounded by green islands with snow-capped mountains.

We were out on deck when the first sea otter was spotted. As the morning continued, we saw a whole raft of them!

Going up the fiord, we were near enough to the islands to see many shades of green. Unlike the Tongass National Forest, these greens were from bushes, shrubs and grasses, not pristine or clear-cut forests. I speculated that this was due to the glaciers being in this area more recently, being farther north, and the naturalist agreed.

Soon, we needed to get ready for the next adventure. Brian signed up to go kayaking! It took a good 15 minutes for him to get into all the gear. Kayaking in Alaska can be cold.

In the kayak launching area adjacent to the pit, 16 passengers donned their gear. After zipping up the dry suit (inner and outer zippers) with help from crew, the final step was to burp the suit. Putting one hand to vent the latex around your neck, you do a deep squat to expel the air trapped in the suit. A lot of air escapes!

The two-person kayaks are laid out inside the ship and each pair of passengers get fitted to the seats, with crew members adjusting the position of foot pegs or rudder pedals. The “captain” sits in the rear and operates the rudder and the “general manager” sits in front. Brian partnered with a young woman from China; it was agreed that Brian is captain. Brian had operated the rudder on a sea kayak before in New Zealand.

Later that afternoon, both of us went on a Zodiac tour of the same bay. Not only are the Zodiacs faster, but the tide had risen. We were able to go deep into the bay. And, sun shone the entire trip. Our drivers/naturalists were thrilled with the unusual conditions.

We saw a lot of sea otters and harbor seals. No bears. Interesting birds dove for food or soared adjacent to the shoreline. We thought maybe three types of white birds? A few salmon jumped above the water; we didn’t know why. Much later, Brian saw a salmon jump about seven times in a row. We guess that the fish jump for bugs to eat.

• Alaska 2025