This time, it would be orca whales instead of minkes. With the rain threatening the whole time, I wasn't sure this was a great idea but I figured what the heck. So off I went.
The boat ride left from Port Townsend in Washington, winded its way among islands in the sound, and landed at Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. On the way up, we saw seals (neat!), a nesting bald eagle family (from very far away), and a variety of birds. On the way back, the boat looked for whales.
Unfortunately, the whales were sleep swimming when we looked for them. The whales travel in schools (called pods) swimming all that time. When they're awake, they actually do the leaping and whatever that we love. When they're in their sleep phase, they still move but it's kind of like synchronized low-effort swimming. We saw a herd of seven. You'd see their fins break the surface and then go down again. Unlike off Cape Cod, you didn't see flippers or much else. The group that went out during lunch saw them jumping. Just bad timing on my part I guess.
While they were watching them, we were left on the San Juan Island. Most of the islands in this area are privately owned. People have pricey little houses on the islands and have to be supplied by ferry boat (that morning/evening commute's got to be tough). Because of telecommuting, more and more people can live out there so, like everywhere else, farmers are selling their land for a killing and houses are sprouting up. It's all pretty disappointing.
There's a national park on San Juan Island called the San Juan Island National Histor ...More...
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