Whale Watching

August 12, 2004 - Perce, Gaspe

Today arrived bright and clear in the mid 60s and it was our morning to go whale watching.  With great excitement, we boarded the pontoon-like yellow and green boat.  The sides had windows that could be raised for better viewing or closed to keep the wind and splash out of the boat.  The French boat captain was your sea man with ball cap, weathered skin, and deep blue eyes that penetrated the horizon as he looked for whale and guided the boat.

The water was calm at the start and by 1 1/2 hours, no whales, clouds lowering over the water, and rougher seas.  At times, it seemed like the boat was going up hill, but in the way of the seas, this was really not anything outstanding.  At this point, I felt we would not see any whales. 

We passed in front of Bonaventure Island which is the nesting place of thousands of birds and seals.  Looking at the cliffs of this hilly island, it looked like the cliff was covered in snow and that it was actually snowing, but it was thousands and thousands of white gannets and sea gulls on top of the cliff and the snow was gannets and sea gulls flying above the cliffs.  What a sight to see. 

Just in front of Bonaventure, a school of whale was spotted.  How exciting.  There must have been 8 or 10 whales and for the next 30 minutes or so, they put on a display.  They would blow water out of their blow holes to a height of 50 feet and then rise out of the water--not fully out, but enough to see how wide they were and what we saw looked to be about 40 feet long.  These were Minke whales and at times they were within 10 feet or so of the boat.  Several times, two at once would blow these water spouts and then in unison rise over the surface of the water. 

The captain received cheers and clapping for his accomplishment.  We were very fortunate to see the whales in their own environment.

On another note, on our drive to Perce from Tete D Indien, we went down a 17% grade.  Imagine reaching the top of a ferris wheel, seeing only sky, and then plunging down; that is a 17% grade.