I don't have any appearances to make at this conference until Saturday, so I took the day off to go on a whale hunt. Spoiler: We didn't see any whales--none of the boats did today. So long faces all around. But we did see other stuff, and it was really nice to get a tour of the islands around here, so there you go. This is at the dock, heading down toward the boat.
This is me on the deck of the boat, waiting for everyone else to get on. About 20 people were there including four Swedes, four Germans and eight English people. The rest were normal people.
Now we are pulling out. I think these are all fishing boats. There were signs that mentioned hiring a boat to go fishing but I didn't see anyone doing much of that. I was very anxious about going on this boat trip, and not simply because of the very real possibility of sea sickness. When I bought the tickets the lady working there advised that I "dress warm" and bring a snack as the trip would be between 3-5 hours long(!). Well, I didn't bring any particularly warm clothes with me, and the hotel is in the middle of a conference center, so there is no take away to be had for love nor money in this area. I bought a little sack of trail mix from the same place I bought shampoo (I won't even mention what I paid for THAT!). Rather thoughtfully, the whale boat people had nice wind proof, fleeced lined coats they lent out, and I snapped up one of those very quickly. On land, temps were perfectly reasonable (about 50 F) but we were told that the open boat gets chilly indeed--and did it ever! I was slightly sick while we were close to land, as the other boats and dykes made big waves but once we got out in the open seas, the water was very calm. To stave off the heaves, I stayed up on deck until we were very clear from the land and by then my hands were so cold, I couldn't move them. By the time we got back home 5 hours later, I was frozen through. Add the hour each way on the shuttle and it has been a helluva day--but I get ahead of myself.
Here are some sea lions--and not California sea lions, either, which are pretty small. The guide lady said that these are
steller sea lions. which are much larger.
More steller sea lions.
Cormorants, or so I was told.
Here are two harbor seals, which seem minature in comparison.
Here is an island that has no people on it. I didn't hear the real name, but the nick name is Safari Island since, in the 1950s it was stocked with antelope and sheep from every corner of the world: some from Japan, Africa, South America, the U.S. Rich people would pay money to be dropped off and allowed to shoot as much as they wanted. This went on for a few decades, until the 1970s when animal rights people started to have some leverage and put an end to it. Now they roam free with no predators there to molest them (
No moleste!) and only the harsh winters and scarcity of food to keep their populations in check. We mainly saw big horn sheep.
Now we are just inside the U.S. border. The port here was unbelievable. Some of these ships were large enough to house entire cities. Those canisters stacked 20 and 30 high are those things that are loaded onto train cars. They look like shoe boxes when they are on those massive ships.
It took several minutes to sail around this ship, it was so big. I would love to have someone tour me around a harbor like this, as well as one of these ships, and learn how everything really works. (The blackmarket stuff, too.) How many Lithuanian women are stuffed into those canisters?
I have several videos, but will have to wait to upload them until I get home.
This is my boarding pass which I needed to get on the boat today. However, because we didn't see any whales, it is now a REboarding pass, which I can use at ANY TIME in the future if and when I wish to go on another tour. The boat owner insisted that everyone keep them because "one never knows when one will be in Vancouver again!" Apparently a Japanese tourist kept his unused boarding pass for 20 years, returned last Autumn with it and was blessed with dozens of whale sightings. Pass that story along to 20 of your friends during the next 10 days to avoid bad luck.
This is me on the deck of the boat, waiting for everyone else to get on. About 20 people were there including four Swedes, four Germans and eight English people. The rest were normal people. 
Now we are pulling out. I think these are all fishing boats. There were signs that mentioned hiring a boat to go fishing but I didn't see anyone doing much of that. I was very anxious about going on this boat trip, and not simply because of the very real possibility of sea sickness. When I bought the tickets the lady working there advised that I "dress warm" and bring a snack as the trip would be between 3-5 hours long(!). Well, I didn't bring any particularly warm clothes with me, and the hotel is in the middle of a conference center, so there is no take away to be had for love nor money in this area. I bought a little sack of trail mix from the same place I bought shampoo (I won't even mention what I paid for THAT!). Rather thoughtfully, the whale boat people had nice wind proof, fleeced lined coats they lent out, and I snapped up one of those very quickly. On land, temps were perfectly reasonable (about 50 F) but we were told that the open boat gets chilly indeed--and did it ever! I was slightly sick while we were close to land, as the other boats and dykes made big waves but once we got out in the open seas, the water was very calm. To stave off the heaves, I stayed up on deck until we were very clear from the land and by then my hands were so cold, I couldn't move them. By the time we got back home 5 hours later, I was frozen through. Add the hour each way on the shuttle and it has been a helluva day--but I get ahead of myself.
Here are some sea lions--and not California sea lions, either, which are pretty small. The guide lady said that these are steller sea lions. which are much larger.
More steller sea lions.
Cormorants, or so I was told.
Here are two harbor seals, which seem minature in comparison.
Here is an island that has no people on it. I didn't hear the real name, but the nick name is Safari Island since, in the 1950s it was stocked with antelope and sheep from every corner of the world: some from Japan, Africa, South America, the U.S. Rich people would pay money to be dropped off and allowed to shoot as much as they wanted. This went on for a few decades, until the 1970s when animal rights people started to have some leverage and put an end to it. Now they roam free with no predators there to molest them (No moleste!) and only the harsh winters and scarcity of food to keep their populations in check. We mainly saw big horn sheep.
Now we are just inside the U.S. border. The port here was unbelievable. Some of these ships were large enough to house entire cities. Those canisters stacked 20 and 30 high are those things that are loaded onto train cars. They look like shoe boxes when they are on those massive ships.
It took several minutes to sail around this ship, it was so big. I would love to have someone tour me around a harbor like this, as well as one of these ships, and learn how everything really works. (The blackmarket stuff, too.) How many Lithuanian women are stuffed into those canisters? 
I have several videos, but will have to wait to upload them until I get home.
This is my boarding pass which I needed to get on the boat today. However, because we didn't see any whales, it is now a REboarding pass, which I can use at ANY TIME in the future if and when I wish to go on another tour. The boat owner insisted that everyone keep them because "one never knows when one will be in Vancouver again!" Apparently a Japanese tourist kept his unused boarding pass for 20 years, returned last Autumn with it and was blessed with dozens of whale sightings. Pass that story along to 20 of your friends during the next 10 days to avoid bad luck.
1 comment:
Stunning but gruelling.
xM
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