We had a short but fun trip from Klemtu to Shearwater under another blue sky today.  We have really had the luck with weather this trip.  The scenery was spectacular as we wove through the islands.  The trip took us through Jackson Narrows and Reid Passage both of them giving us great looks at the shoreline and all the creatures that live there.  After years of a virus that nearly wiped out the sea stars on this coast it was great to see them back in good numbers.  They were chasing their slow-moving prey, the muscles, up on the rocks on both sides of us as we passed by.

We also saw our first sea otter of the trip and yet another elephant seal, making this the all-time best trip for that species any of us have had.  A tufted puffin flyby brought our trip bird count up to 48 species.

The marina in Shearwater was waiting for us, and with a week’s experience on their boats all our captains eased into the dock with great skill.  The harbor master allowed that he liked when our flotilla comes in since everybody seems so well organized.  It was a pretty sight!

The siren song of the pub and restaurant, not to mention the store and laundromat claimed several of our voyagers after a week in the wilderness, but Marta and Jordan went on a bog walk.  The “Spirit Walk” travels through muskeg, a new ecosystem for the trip.  There were gentians, rein orchids, saxifrage, and other late-season flowers in bloom.  Even better, there were carnivorous plants.  The bog is so acidic that there is no nutrition for plants in some areas.  This is where carnivorous plants have evolved.  They capture insects with sticky surfaces and dissolve them in situ for nutrition.  Drama in the plant world!