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  >  Trip 2023   >  Whales!

“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.

Our RIB waiting to take us out for a whale-watching adventure.
Whale-watchers, clad in survival suits, setting out to find some whales
We got quite close to the humpback whales as they came up to breathe
And then: A whale leaps into the air
Not to be outdone, two other whales leap in unison. Over on the right is the splash from the first leap.
A whale rolls over and slaps his fin on the water
You typically don’t see icebergs this late in the summer, but this small floe was still hanging around.
Smaller chunks of ice were breaking off the main iceberg.
We grabbed this chunk of ice to take home for ice cubes in our drinks.