Awesome adventure with once-in-a-lifetime experiences! Our guides, Ali and Kenan, were very welcoming and enthusiastic as well as knowledgeable. We took this adventure as part of our cruise through Holland America.
During the safety briefing I kept hearing this weird squeaking noise. I found it difficult to listen. Even Ali stopped the briefing and looked around. Next thing we know the squeaking started moving under the dock beneath our feet. Soon, an otter head poked out! He ducked back under the dock and squeaked back and forth, poking his head out every now and then. Finally, he swam off.
Then, we all got in our kayaks and headed out. I have never kayaked before, but Ali and Kenan were such good instructors that it just seemed easy. I never got sore or tired (well, my knees ached toward the end).
So we looked for sea stars (or starfish). We saw a ton! They were purple! We saw some orange ones too.
Then we spotted some eagles watching us. Just as we were admiring the eagles, some sea lions appeared in front of us. They didn't wait for me to take a picture. Bummer.
So then we headed toward the island. Soon, we noticed blow from a whale. That immediately followed 4 more blows. 5 whales! Awesome. We all paddled faster to get closer. Next thing we know, the 5 whales all jumped out of the water with their mouths open. It turns out this was a bubble feeding. Which is a rare sighting. Ali and Kenan explained what a bubble feeding was. Their enthusiasm was really peaking at this point. But then so was mine.
We learned to watch the sea gulls. They could tell when a bubble feed was about to happen and they circled the area. We were able to watch four more feedings! Amazing.
About this time, my knees were aching from using the rudders so I stretched my legs out. I lost the rudders and couldn't get them back. Ali (or Kenan, I get them confused) stayed with us as we zig zagged our way back to the dock. Its a lot harder to steer a 2 person kayak than you would think. Next time, I'll just wait till the excursion is over to stretch my legs.
Anyway, I highly recommend this excursion! And ask for Ali and Kenan - they will treat you right!