Today was simultaneously great and slow – apparently rain makes the whales leap out the water in exuberance and then disappear completely, so we had whales breaching just off of our bow but were never able to get in the water with any of them. Since I was a little kid I’ve wanted to see a whale throw itself out of the ocean, and today fulfilled that dream many times over. Audrey got all of the best photos, but even without great photos it was an experience that in every way lived up to expectations.
The people on the trip and the staff on the boat have been great – the passengers have been divided into two “tenders”, so interactions have been mostly with the twelve people on our boat. Ted and Renee are people I knew before and who are both tremendously impressive. Renee’s friends Tanya and Mike are both amazingly positive, fun and energetic. Tanya’s mom Kay has been a trooper, and for Phil and Susanah, the boat’s Canadians, this is their third whale trip. The Australians (Clint and Nats) have been loads of fun and by far live up to and exceed Clint’s ranking as the world’s 26th best lifeguard. Roy and Jackie have brought a bit of Wyoming to the trip and have given as well as they have taken in the witty back-and-forth as we search for whales.
