Shumshu Island, June 19

This afternoon we visited Shumshu Island. The highlight of this trip was doing a zodiac cruise around the point of the island. There were hundreds and hundreds of sea otters all in big rafts among the kelp. It was incredible to see them. They were curious about the zodiacs, but also cautious, keeping their distance. A few of them had babies that they were carrying on their stomachs or backs. They are just the cutest animals and this was the first time that I have seen so many in one place. Their populations are finally rebounding from being hunted almost to extinction for their really soft fur. Their fur can have around ¾ of a million hairs per square inch - pretty incredible. I took about 1,000 photos, and only a few came out not blurry. Thank goodness for digital. I have attached a photo of one of the cuties for you to see.



This evening we tentatively scheduled another after dinner zodiac cruise to go and view bears on the west coast of the Kamchaka Peninsula. We did end up seeing some bears from the ship, but never did the zodiac cruise. That was fine by me since tomorrow morning is an early one. Which reminds me, I should go to bed since it is almost 11pm. Goodnight!