I can only hold my breath under water for about a minute,
but a whale can hold theirs for 10 minutes or so. Then when they surface, they
clear their blowhole with a spray of water high in the air that can be seen for
a kilometer.
We had a choice of 3 boats, small, medium or large. The
small was a zodiac, the large had all the services, and the medium was in
between. Today we chose the large boat, and went whale watching. There was a
naturalist on board with knowledge of the Marine park, the various types of
whales and other marine life.
Now I need to tell you, Marlene and I saw our first whale
many years ago in the Galapagos Islands, then again, on our Fjord orientation day while taking the
ferry from Baie St. Catherines to Tadoussac. Both times, even though at a
distance, the rounded back with a distinctive fin breaking the surface was
clearly visible . We wondered whether there was more to whale watching, or just
more of the same.
On the 3 hour tour, we learned to search the horizon for the
spray of water from their blowhole. Then
they would resurface repeatedly for additional breaths, each time showing us
their broad back and fin in relative slow motion. When we saw their tail though,
it was the sign they were diving deeply again in search of more food and would
not appear for another 10 minutes or so; and by then in some distant location.
We tracked down multiple whales, idled the boat, and watched
them surface. We had a number of good sightings, and one whale came close
enough to almost brush against the boat's hull.
Using binoculars and taking pictures was a challenge. The
whale only surfaces for about 3 seconds at a time, and you had to be very
patient and quick to get a picture. In the meantime, while looking through your
binoculars or camera, the chances were good you'd miss a sighting somewhere
else.
Even though difficult and uncertain, Marlene managed to get
these pictures.
Overall, the whale watching tour was truly worthwhile to
learn about their habitat and behaviours, in addition to a few good sightings.
The consensus was, we had a whale of a time.
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