A Whale of a Tail

One of the activities we signed up for was sea kayaking. There was great demand to paddle but unfortunately not all got to participate. The water was as calm as a mill pond and the wind was nonexistent. Our guide said that in the eight years he had been guiding, he had never had a day like this. We could hear whales from every direction and see the spray from the blowholes all around us. It was surreal like it was from a western movie. The Indians (whales) were circling the wagon train (kayakers). Up close and personal, these gigantic humpback mammals kept their distance initially until a pod of three decided to make a game of it. I could see what was starting to evolve, so I was ready when the guide excitedly called all of us to gather together and hold onto one another’s kayak and form a pontoon formation. The three humpbacks were taking direct aim at us and started swimming in our direction. I could literally see the air bubbles right beside our kayak when three whales passed directly beneath us. They could have surfaced at any moment, thus throwing the entire group of eight kayaks upside down and we would have had to see for ourselves if the wet suits would help us survive. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling somewhat uncomfortable but there was definite panic and terror in the eyes of a number of the paddlers. Both of the guides were awestruck and as attested to by some of the pics I have included, you can get somewhat of an idea of what we were dealing with. We were supposed to be out for an hour and a half but we ended up being out for almost 2 ½ hours. The ice pack had shifted and it was quite the effort to get back to the ship. It was time for a couple of pints.

Skol!!