Monday, October 13, 2008

Whale of a time

I have spent some time this afternoon (after a post-lunch siesta) looking far out to sea looking for some sign of whales as they migrate north to their breeding grounds. Container ships ... check. Helicopters ... check. Small planes ... check. White caps aka white horses ... check. Whales ... nada. Until about 4pm when I noticed a largish splash a distance out. Then nothing. Half an hour later - another one. But by the time the binoculars were out and focused on roughly the right patch of ocean, no sign. S jokingly accused me of perpetrating some odd form of torture, as I called her each time to witness the whales. And then, there it was - two splashes at the same time that we both saw. I was lucky enough to see whales and fins ... And found myself wishing for stronger binoculars, better eyes, and perhaps an industrial-strength telescope - or even a boat. The whales were incredibly difficult to track across the ocean but from time to time I'd see the splash again - or a large puff of spray from a blowhole. Heaven. (At this point I will mention that the actual whale sighting came AFTER I had employed a trick from "Finding Nemo", one I had tried often but unsuccessfully as I sat on my balcony overlooking the Atlantic Ocean when I was in Cape Town last November. It is, of course, "speaking in whale". Thanks Dory. It works.)

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