The weather was appropriately gray and overcast, characteristic of a historic New England town. We arrived early and had some time to explore the harbor area, which had not only several different fishing and sighting tours but ice cream shops, seafood restaurants, and a few novelty stores. From there, we were anxious to get on the boat. It was a two-level vessel with an open viewing area on top, and an inside area with a snack shop below. This proved to be our sanctuary.
It took about two hours to reach a whale sighting area, and it was a rough two hours. After we got out of the break water and into the ocean, the waves became choppier and our speed picked up, resulting in a harsh rocking motion. Sometimes it was impossible to stand without holding onto something. Fortunately, myself and my friends had taken anti-motion sickness pills, but the boat ride still made us unnaturally drowsy and unsettled our center of balance, so we practically napped with our heads on a table the entire way. It was a pretty lousy time.
We slowed to a stop once we found a group of whales, thankfully. The following hour consisted of running around the boat trying to find the best view when whales on either side started to surface. The most we saw were their backs and tails, but it was still fascinating to see them in the wild and to learn about their behavior from the guide. Each whale can be identified by the markings and scars it has accumulated on the underside of its tail; naturally, these may change over time, but the guide introduced us to what she thought was a whale named Manhattan. Whether or not this truly was a whale they recognized, I love the concept that each one is an individual - more like a person than an animal. We mainly stuck by a group of three whales, and I learned that whales typically form and break apart as groups at random and for a random amount of times; so these three whales had probably just crossed each others' paths and decided to spend some time together. For animal behavior, I found that rather beautiful.
The boat ride back seemed less rough, and by then the sun had come out. We also met with a small group of foreign exchange students from England, and it was interesting to hear their view of things. It made me feel much less well-traveled, that's for sure.
In the end, I'm not sure the experience was worth that boat ride, but by now I am glad I went and glad I caught some of these photos. It brings up the question of whether the journey or the destination is more important; in this case, it sure wasn't the journey.
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