A ferry to Victoria, the Capital of British Columbia, steams from Port Angeles on the south shore of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. At 15 knots, the crossing lasts about an hour and a half.
Rain dissuaded us from paddling today, so we opted for a whale watch boat. Of the roughly 35 people on board, one passengers shared my last name. She was a young New Zealander in Victoria for a conference on aboriginal issues.
Encountering a pod of 2 humpbacks in the Strait (1) the guide seemed excited that they were tail slapping, apparently an unusual activity. The captain turned the engine off and we drifted as the whales dived under the boat, in what whale watchers call a "mugging."
Further east, the boat had a close encounter with 2 orcas. Also known as killer whales, orcas eat mammals, such as seals. Humpbacks are Baleine whales, filtering out krill and other small marine life on their deep dives.
Returning to Victoria, the bow was cleared of passengers as we headed west into a stiff wind and 5 foot seas. Stopping by Trial Island, the crew pointed out seals that I could now see (2).
(1) The Strait is part of the broader Salish Sea, a termed coined in 1988 to encompass the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget Sound, and the passage between Vancouver Island and Mainland BC (a).
(a) The city of Vancouver is on the mainland, not on Vancouver Island.
(2) Seals are basically rock colored (good camouflage) and the day was quite overcast.
The Provincial Capitol, topped with a statue of Vancouver.
No comments:
Post a Comment