Whale watching adventure

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What a night! Marg woke with a start thinking there was a bear right outside her window. Then she thought someone was stealing our chairs. It turned out to be her pesky bunk mate trying to get a chair to star gaze. I woke early and just glanced out the window and saw sparkling diamonds everywhere. The moon had set and the clouds had parted leaving the stars in an incredibly dark sky. How could you just go back to bed! I was just about to get Marg when she came out saying “I want to experience it all”. We sat there for ½ an hour or so trying to identify some constellations, even seeing 4 shooting stars one of which lasted a long time and had a red firey tail. Both of us gasped at that one. It was 5:30am Atlantic Time so we went back to bed as the clouds rolled back in again.

I got up at 7am and headed right to the showers. The sun hadn’t risen yet but it was very bright and warm 58 with a steady wind from the east. It promises to be a bright and sunny day for our whale watching experience.

We both had fabulous showers ( I must explain). When one goes camping there are all kinds of surprises waiting. One big deal item is the availability and condition of the showers. They could be non-existent, dirty, cold, costly, just ok or fabulous. This campground has fabulous showers, so it is a BIG deal.

After showers I made oatmeal pancakes with walnuts and sausage. We gobbled those down in no time, Marg cleaned up and we headed out to walk Oscar. I talked to the owner of the campground and she said it was Market Day and not to miss it, it ended at 1pm. We jumped in the car and headed into town with Oscar and perused the venders wares. I got some Christmas presents (can’t tell)and a knitted hat and neck warmer for me. Marg bought tea and friendship bracelets and tomatoes. Oscar had a great time smelling all the food and meeting all the dogs, he was well behaved.

We checked into the whale watching tour and were told to be back by 1;30. Took Oscar home, had a sandwich and gathered our gear.

We were fitted with a flotation suit and given safety instructions then headed to our zodiac. Pictures.

The ride out to the Bay of Fundy was really choppy and I would have been nervous but figured the captain (Dave) didn’t want to get dunked in the 53 degree water or ruin his boat. He was a very competent type A personality so we both trusted him.

There was a Minke whale that the 2 occupants in the front saw but the rest of us missed him. We waited a while for him to resurface but no luck so we headed out more. On the way we saw 2 pairs of mature bald eagles and 2 immature, different locations, eider ducks, porpoise, northern gannets and 3 other whale watching boats. There she blows someone shouted and we headed in that direction at full speed, 16 knots. There was an illusive Finback, 60 ft long and 60 tons, out there somewhere. We went back and forth several times and just when we thought we’d have to head in the “Old Grump” surfaced right alongside the boat. He just came up, took his breath, and slowly disappeared again. Here I am the whole time wondering which lens to use on my camera, just changed to the telephoto, and here he was so close you could touch him, on the wrong side of the boat. I got a great shot of a pimple on his back. What a thrill to be so up close and personal. Wow, even Dave had an adrenalin rush. A few minutes later we headed home but stopped along the way to see some harbor seals sunbathing. They all slid into the water, poor things. Pictures.

The experience was fabulous. I recommend a zodiac for whale watching for anyone who gets the opportunity.

When we returned home to take Oscar walking the tide was so far out we went to our beach and walked way out. We walked on the bay floor. There were shells of all kinds, mostly alive, barnacles, muscles and a few sea urchins.

After a little rest we got dressed and headed to dinner, a restaurant recommended by some town folks. Rossmount was a little out of town, not far and well worth the drive. It looked like an old inn but we were told the original building burned down in 1962 so when they rebuilt it they used parts from other old buildings. The wood work is exceptional, staircase outstanding and furnished with unusual pieces. Pictures

Marg had scallops, I had Atlantic Salmon and both our meals were fit for kings.

As we drove home the moon was shining on the water making a sparkling path. We got ready for bed and decided to get up by 7am as tomorrow is another travel day. We are heading to Alma to experience the extreme tidal variations in the Bay of Fundy. 9:30pm

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