Canada

Vancouver Island

30 June 2011

Whales, seals and bears

It has been on my bucket list forever. But I always missed them. Not the right season all over the world. Whales. But now, here in Canada it’s looking good. Some of them really never leave. After meeting my cousin who moved from Holland to Vancouver Canada, where there is definitely more space, we take the ferry and drive to Vancouver Island. It’s a beautiful drive across the island to the Pacific side. This is where we will hopefully see them.

We camp out on yet another perfect camping spot right by the ocean, make a wood fire/ barbecue and get up early in our not so very comfortable and rather cold SUV in which we sleep those weeks. But every bit of it is worth it. When we are speeding across the clear waters in the open zodiac away from the coast through all the dotted islands with the sea wind in our hair we are overwhelmed. On some of the islands we see colonies of sea lions and many seals in the water. What a spectacular country! We are still hoping for the whales of course. This is when Mike, our captain, gets a message on the radio that a humpback whale with a calf has been spotted close by! We go there quickly and can already see its spray when we arrive. At last! Every now and then they will come up to catch a breath of air. The calf looks curiously at us. Probably wondering what those strange looking animals want. It is an awe-inspiring sight that makes us all feel very small and humble. And after that encounter we also see a grey whale grazing for a while! What a perfect day!