Whale watching in British Columbia was not what I
imagined. My reverie of Free Willy frolicking in the
sun was replaced by a freezing reality as we set off
from the harbor.
When we arrived at the dock in Victoria, the first
thing we were asked to do was put on giant orange
astronaut suits, and safely goggles too. "Oh, right,"
I thought, "whale watching is such serious stuff. Or
better yet, they just want us to have something
amusing to take pictures of if we don't actually see a
whale." Little did I know. As the Zodiac headed out
toward the straits of Juan de Fuca we all zipped our
cameras- and heads- inside the suits to avoid the
rain, ocean spray, and waves that began to bombard us
from every direction.
Onward we went, chasing the whales that were rumored
to be feeding in the area (all the whale watching
companies share information so that everyone will get
to see the animals). On our way to the feeding
grounds, we passed some rocks covered with what looked
like more rocks. As we got closer, we could
distinguish seals and sea lions practicing (mostly)
peaceful cohabitation.
The orcas had headed over to Vancouver that day, so we
were content to track down the grey whales off the
coast of Washington State. As we crossed the border,
the captain saluted the southern neighbors. This
caused one passenger to giggle that he was not allowed
inside the US without a visa, making the guide a bit
nervous.
We finally joined a group of whale watching boats, and
sat around telling whale stories (much like fish
stories) for about an hour waiting for the grey whales
to surface. When two of them finally did, we were
close enough to see the barnacles on the whale's skin!
Too bad we couldn't really see much below the surface
of the water to get an idea of just how big these
creatures are.
If you are able to go see the whales on a sunny day, I
imagine the experience would be different. But with
west coast weather being famously rainy, you might
just have to hide your head in your space suit and try
warming up with whiskey and tea after the ride.
