by Paola Lizares
Home >> Creatures of the Sea
I sighed in relief. A week before, on another vessel, the sea had been very, very rough. I threw up twice and, although I did get to see the creatures, I didn’t enjoy the experience at all.
But today was going to be different. One of the crew assured us that it was going to be a beautiful day, the sea as flat as a mirror. The Quick Cat II left the harbor and soon we were in the deep blue sea.
The sea was indeed eerily calm. As the sun had barely risen, the water had a beautiful warm tone. It felt like drifting on a cloud.
The crew gave us the mandatory safety instructions, showed us where the toilets were, and treated us to some hot beverages and muffins (which I did not need to vomit). And, then, suddenly, we noticed how the vessel started to glide more slowly.
Looking up from my delicious cappuccino, I saw the creatures. It was a small pod, only three whales, but that was more than enough.
They were about ten meters away from starboard. We were instructed to wave our arms and greet them with loud, happy voices. So all the passengers – we must have been about twenty – started waving our arms and shouting like mad.
The humpbacks reacted to our stimuli. They approached the vessel. The water was crystal clear, so we could see everything: their amazing length (fifteen meters), their blackish-bluish backs, their white, glowing bellies, the barnacles growing on their bodies as they do on Bootstrap Bill Turner in Pirates of the Caribbean.
They played London Bridge with us, swimming under the boat, from starboard to port and from port to starboard. They performed some synchronized swimming for us, as graceful as Esther Williams. They descended towards the bottom of the sea and then rose vertically from the water, exposing at least two meters of their heads to the air. They snorted through their blowholes and created underwater halos.
We saw two more pods of whales up close, and many more pods from a distance. Then, unfortunately, it was time for us to return to the marina. We said farewell to the whales and wished them a safe trip back to Antarctica. None of us could understand why the Japanese continue hunting them so adamantly. Such enormous wild beasts, yet so peaceful and serene in their manners. -—- You can catch a glimpse of my whale-watching experience in Hervey Bay, Australia, by clicking on this video:
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Posted on http://www.weeklyletter.com at 2007-12-13 09:00:00 +0100
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Hi Paola
It must be an incredible experience to see the Whales on the sea.
I only have seen Dolphins on the sea. It was during a short trip in Canarias.
It was very exciting, Dolphins are very beautiful.
Hi, Paula,
There are few feelings worse than those of being seasick. I know all too well from experience.
By the way, Japan is not the only country that stupidly hunts whales. The other culprit is Norway.
The Japanese say they do it for scientific purposes. I ask you if using their meat for dogfood and sushi is scientific?
I will close before I get too angry.
Un abrazo,
Peter and Tea (Baguio, Philippines)
Monica, I’ve seen dolphins here, too. They are such playful animals! I was going to write about how some dolphins came close to the whale-watching vessel when we were still close to shore. They seemed to be having a great time racing us. But then I thought that my weekly would be too long and that it would be better if I just talked about the whales.
Peter, you’re right, Norway hunts whales. And so do Iceland and Russia, tribes of Canada and Alaska, even Caribbean nations and Indonesia. Personally, I think that it’s all right to hunt them as long as it is done sustainably. The way things are right now isn’t sustainable at all, at least according to what I’ve read.
Wow, Paola! I’ve never seen whales that close-up. In fact, I’ve only ever seen one whale and, unfortunately, it had died and been washed up on the coast a few miles from where I grew up. Not a pretty sight. Such glorious animals. Such huge and powerful animals. If they were to get together, they could hunt us! They don’t bother, though. Too smart for all that. I’m not too well-up on the reasons for whale-hunting. Whale-oil? Whale-fat? Meat? Scientific research? Sport? I see that quite a few readers have voted in favour, though.
Whales are indeed magnificent creatures. Humans too. It’s odd that we are moved by the plight of so many animals that risk extinction but we don’t care about the threats that mankind face. I wonder how many of us who are moved by wildlife have replaced the light-bulbs in our house for energy saving ones or actively rejected the car for public transport.
The most famous whales are those that swallowed Jonah (The Bible) and Captain Ahab’s leg (Moby Dick).
I’m not very nautically minded. I am what sailors call a ‘land lubber’. What is the land equivalent to a whale? An elephant?
Hi, Paola and everyone.
When a have read your letter, I have remembered my trip to Argentina three years ago. There I could seal in Puerto Pirámide (near from Puerto Madrym) and I coul be very near from whales. I think that they were bigger (the species was “Ballena Franca Austral”) but the feelling was the same.
The sea was very rough but I don’t get seasick easily (by luck). After our departure, the habour was closed and no more ships could depart (by the weather), what the experience was wonderful.
In this trip to Argentina I could also see penguins, seals and other marine animals in its natural habitat. The penguins are very funny. They walk by its way and you must wait until they stop. I admire the way that all these animals can move around the world and always they find its destine: in austral summer they live more at south, and in winter they go to north.
We must look for take care about Earth, animals and Environment. It is very important, because it is our future and the future of our children.
Conchi Calvo
What Donal says is right. I guess we all have to try to do our best to help protect our environment. I am quite in favor of using means of transport other than the car, but, to be honest, my light bulbs aren’t the energy-saving kind. But this is because I’m a tenant in a fully-furnished house, so the owner is in charge of changing the bulbs.
I watched a very interesting report the other day about how things that seem innocuous actually aren’t. Cows are lovely animals, but their – ahem – gases pollute as much as cars do. Rice is OK for vegetarians, but growing rice also produces gases. You don’t see smoke coming out of your computer, but with the Internet doubling in size each week, the time we spend in front of a computer generates as much heat as airplanes do. So I guess it’s time to stop writing my comment! Too much time in front of my PC!
Greetings from Australia! I’ve only been Down Under for a few hours so I haven’t seen any creatures of the sea yet. And that’s because I haven’t seen the sea yet. What I’ve seen is Brisbane River and a mangrove along it. Mangrove. Now I know what that word means. I had never before today seen a mangrove nor been in a mangrove. If my jet lag is not so bad, a mangrove is an ecosystem that is halfway between sea and land, and it is very important for lots of creatures of the sea because it serves as a nursery for the young of those creatures.
Hi everyone!
It’s good and entertainment to read and write over topics differents as the price or the tip of a coffee.
I’ve never seen a whale nor dolphins in the sea, probably if I would see them I’ll feel in a mix between afraid and surprise. In fact, I prefer to visit cathedrals than a saffari in Africa. I have to recognize at the present it’s difficult to worried more for the environment that the own comfort (take the car). However, we must leave the Planet at least the same as we receive, this will be the best inheritance for our descendants.
Thanks for your comment, Mariano! I used to be more of the cathedral-going type than the nature-seeing type, but I think that I’ve changed. I’ve seen enough cathedrals already, but not enough exotic animals. Today I’m go to a theme park called Sea World. We’ll see dolphins, seals, sharks and, most interesting of all in my opinion, dugongs. Dugongs are gentle sea mammals that are in danger of extinction. It is very difficult to spot them at sea.
G-day! I am in the Gold Coast, in Australia’s East Coast, and in a while we are going to a theme park called Sea World. Creatures of the sea galore!
Yesterday we saw creatures of land, specifically Australian land. I carried a koala in my arms and fed wallabes, kangaroos, and joeys. I also saw wombats and echidnas.
There were creature of air, too. Birds of the same feather flock together. Do you know what an ibis is? What about a lorikeet?
I’m not one to be terribly interested in creatures, but if that’s what a place has to offer, then I’ll look at creatures! I like petting zoos because you can touch the animals. The Aquarium in San Sebastian had a funny petting zoo; you could touch fish! I found it a bit disgusting.
Regarding the hunting of whales, I don’t like hunting in general but I suppose if, and only if, there are enough whales, it isn’t necessarily any more evil than fishing is. Abuse is where we have to draw the line.
There was a petting aquarium at Sea World yesterday. We touched plenty of starfish. They were hard, like a file. (My brother disagrees; he says they were soft.)
At Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary the day before yesterday, we got to pet emus, kangaroos and koalas. They have beautiful soft fur, especially the koalas. You can feed the kangaroos, so you can feel their teeth gnawing at the pellets in the palm of your hand. It doesn’t hurt!