Ghost Villages, Puffins, and Incredible Sea Kayaking at Unga Island, Alaska

 

A brilliant horned puffin, lit up by the mid morning light streaming through one of the sea arches.

Today was one of our best days of the entire ten day expedition cruise here in Alaska. We visited one of the Shumagin Islands, called Unga Island, and explored by kayak and on land. We were greeted with early morning fog, so intense that we couldn't see the land on either side of the small bay. Luckily the fog started to lift just as we started launching our kayak group from the back of the Safari Explorer. The water was calm as glass, with no wind and no swell. Perfect for exploring all the nooks and crannies of the shoreline. And the shoreline here is about as wild as it gets.

We started off by paddling over to the outer point of Delarof Bay, where we could see a giant sea rock arch that looked perfectly for kayaking through. I caught some photos of the guests as they came through behind me. I like that in some of the photos you can also see the Safari Explorer, far in the background. We checked out some caves that went way back into the cliffs after, and then just enjoyed the conditions and the wildlife. Horned and Tufted puffins dotted the water and the air above. I was able to get very close to some of the swimming horned puffins. They are one of my favorite birds to photograph. We found another offshore island that was covered in puffins, kittiwakes, and murres.

In the afternoon we took folks ashore to an abandoned ghost village of Unga. This was a native village where everyone left in 1969 to go work in a new fish processing town of Sand Point. The village is now in tatters. But since there are no bears on the island, the guests are able to meander around at their own leisure. Something we definitely cannot do on the mainland of Alaska, where brown bears abound. This is also a great place to search for sea glass of all colors. I also found some agates in the surf as well.

Not many people will ever know about this place, much less visit. But for those of us that get a chance to really explore this place, it will forever hold a special place in our adventurous hearts.

The kayaking conditions this morning in Delarof Harbor on Unga Island were just magical. It was like we were skating across glass. We ended up covering a little over five miles this morning. There were so many wildlife sightings, caves, and rock arches that it didn't feel that long at all.

When we pulled up in the morning, it was so foggy that we couldn't see the sides of the bay. It started to clear up right before it was time to send out our kayaking group. Lucky us.

Kayaking around birds and cliffs while keeping an eye out for whales passing by.

Peaking out of a flooded sea cave. There were several of these caves that we could get way back into thanks to the high tide and our kayaks.

Staking out my path through the cliff. It turns out that there are several rock arches here that you can kayak through.

Making it through the arch with the Safari Explorer in the background.

After paddling through one arch, this duo turned around and paddle back through another entrance. We were all having so much fun out there.

If you look closely you can see my whole kayak group, sneaking their way through the narrows.

Success!

Here we found another tight passage to paddle between some rocks.

The reflections of the cliffs and kayaks in this photo blew me away.

Susan and Susan, heading so deep in this cave that Susans white jacket started to glow.

A big steller sea lion, looking straight at me.

I'll call this, 'The Kiss.' Two sea otters all wrapped up in the kelp. One reached over and nuzzled its partner. Maybe I can enter this in some Valentines photo competition.

A horned puffin takes flight.