“How many weather days like this do you get a year?”

“Three?”

We were issued bright orange survival suits. Normally, you come back soaking wet and the skipper stops the boat regularly in case anyone is feeling seasick. Not today. The sun shone, the winds were calm, the sea had no swell. And the whales! The whales came out to play.

At first, the humpbacks were just surfacing to breathe, which is cool to see up-close, but a common enough sight off the coast of Newfoundland. Then, they gave us a few leaps, breaching right in front of us: first one, then two in unison, then the first again, something our guide hadn’t seen in 7 years of tours. Finally, they spent a while just playing with us, rolling over and smacking their massive pectoral fins down on the water. Oh, and there were also dolphins and icebergs, and a mother humpback with her little calf. Euphoria.