The next part of our trip to Vancouver, BC was really the highlight, but be sure to check out the first two recaps if you missed them.
When I was a little girl I used to watch movies over and over and over again, which is quite surprising, because I can hardly stay awake for 10 minutes of a movie these days. Regardless, my favorites to run on repeat were The Little Mermaid, The Land Before Time, My Girl, Uncle Buck, and…Free Willy. Yes, I was obsessed with “Willy” and the Michael Jackson soundtrack that came with it. I dreamed about becoming a marine biologist so I could work with orca (killer) whales because of this movie. I think I almost cried every time I watched it, and I was probably only 10 or 11 years old. As most of you know, I am not a marine biologist, but killer whales still hold a special place in my heart.
After researching things to do on the our trip to Vancouver, BC and coming across whale watching I immediately reminisced of the time in the movie when Willy jumped the barrer to freedom…to Michael Jackson. And when the fiance gave it a “yeah, lets do it!” I was ecstatic. Dream come true. We found Wild Whales on nearby Granville “Island” with guaranteed sightings and made a reservation right away.
Before getting suited up we walked around the public market on the island. The fiance got a few pastries and I had a few bites while we admired the view.
Then we walked around the indoor farmer’s market like market with plenty of gourmet cheeses, meets and fresh produce.
Then it was time to get suited up for our tour.
Believe it or not, but those suits weren’t water proof, so with the rough waters through the straight we got soaked! It was kind of fun though.
After about a 1:30 – 1:45 boat ride we came across the J-Pod.
There was about 15-25 of them that came up and down periodically, and we followed them for about an hour. The pod just had a baby that was only about a month old, which was really neat to see.
Our guide estimated that the male fin was about 6 feet tall.
We even got a little tail flip.
With what we think was Mount Baker in the background.
One of the things our guide said that really resonated with me that the pesticides we use in farming is making its way into the killer whales’ food system and therefore being stored in their “blubber”. In conditions where their food supply is low, they draw on their blubber to maintain life, and when that blubber contains concentrated chemicals it can poison them. Think about how much chemicals/pesticides it would take to poison a whale of that size…a lot. She emphasized the importance of eating organic when we can with this point.
Stay tuned for the last and final installment of our trip!
What was your favorite movie growing up? Did it ever become part of reality for you?
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