Discovering greatness in greyness
Yesterday, I did the thing every tourist here has to do; I went whale-watching. Somehow these guys, the whales I mean, exert a strange fascination on us human beings. What is it? That they’re so big? I’d guess that’s not it. That they’re intelligent, as witnessed by their famous whale songs? Well, I don’t know about you, but if singing were a proof of intelligence, we should have Einsteins only in the Top 40 charts.
No, I think what makes us so infatuated with whales is that they’re mammals living in the sea. At one point in their history, they must have said: “Ah, damn it, that’s enough now, I’m going to the sea!”. Of course, they pay a high price for this change in lifestyle, being in the sea with lungs and everything is certainly not as much fun as it is for a real fish. Still, they don’t complain (or is that what they’re singing about?)
This is why we adore whales. We admire them the same way we admire the guy next doors, who one day packs up, leaves everything behind, the safety and comfort of a boring job, and moves to Australia, some remote island, or Mars, sticks to it and never comes back. The whales did just that, and that’s why we respect them.
So, yes, yesterday, I went whale-watching. And I have two pieces of advice for you.
Michael’s golden hints to Whale-Watching
1: By all means, do it!
2: Don’t bother, it’s a waste of time and money!
Sure, this is contradictory, so let me explain: It is a waste of time, since you will see some whales (grey whales in my case), but keep in mind, they’re actually in the water, while you’re a little bit above the water, in a Zodiac. They come up to breathe, 3-5 times, and then, they’re down again, for more feeding. Actually, they eat 1 tonne of krill and small sea animals a day, so I can understand that they have to keep at it to fulfil their goals. Thus, you’ll see the whale blowing, and a bit of its back, and if you’re really lucky, a bit of its tail fin before it dives down again. Oh, and did I mention that these animals are grey, and so is the sea? That’s right, it’s not very colorful, and not very up close (there is a rule that boats can’t approach the whales more than 30m, which I do agree with, but still, they’re a bit remote that way).
Fig 1: Notional, artistic rendition of a grey whale frolicking in the waters of Clayoquot Sound
Why should you do it then? The ride out on the open sea, dressed up in a cold-water exposure survival suit, riding on a really fast, light Zodiac boat, is extremely exhilarating. Moreover, you get to see the shore from a new perspective, and they stop to let you watch other, less elusive, sea animals, such as sea-lions or bald eagles. The latter eluded us still, unfortunately.
‘Til the next time!
