San Juan Island
Our day began as we had hoped: with a change of plans. As Steve, our Expedition Leader was announcing the morning’s schedule at breakfast, he got the sudden word from the ship’s officers. “What? Oh, killer whales! Everybody outside to the bow!”
The south side of San Juan Island is perhaps the most famous place in the world to see killer whales, and rightly so. Salmon, headed for the Fraser River, must travel through tight passages at Johnstone Strait or the San Juan Islands. And killer whales assemble in both spots to “greet” the arriving fish. Humans gather to fish in the same places. We saw “pods” of purse seiners mixed in with the whales. While it’s always fun to see whales, we were thrilled to see a really big group of orcas. They formed a long line of somewhere between 40 and 60 individuals! After quite some time spent watching the whales, we finally turned off to head for other activities. It was then that the real fun began. The whales, perhaps meeting an incoming group, suddenly began a wild bout of tail-lobbing and breaching. The boisterous creatures seemed intent on beating the water to foam. Drawing near, we saw many more lashing tails and spy-hops.
A short while later, we dropped anchor off of Turn Island and took Zodiacs ashore. This island is a state park, and has pleasant trails. We walked briefly on the island, looking at the vegetation and birds of this driest part of the Northwest Coast.
In the afternoon we docked at Friday Harbor. This, the “Capital of the San Juans,” is a nice place to window shop, and is home to the Whale Museum, which concentrates on killer whales.
Finally, in the late afternoon we left for Canada. We entered the harbour of Victoria just after dinner, and as darkness fell, the buildings of Victoria lit up. After an evening stroll along the waterfront, we looked forward to a day spent in this attractive city.
Our day began as we had hoped: with a change of plans. As Steve, our Expedition Leader was announcing the morning’s schedule at breakfast, he got the sudden word from the ship’s officers. “What? Oh, killer whales! Everybody outside to the bow!”
The south side of San Juan Island is perhaps the most famous place in the world to see killer whales, and rightly so. Salmon, headed for the Fraser River, must travel through tight passages at Johnstone Strait or the San Juan Islands. And killer whales assemble in both spots to “greet” the arriving fish. Humans gather to fish in the same places. We saw “pods” of purse seiners mixed in with the whales. While it’s always fun to see whales, we were thrilled to see a really big group of orcas. They formed a long line of somewhere between 40 and 60 individuals! After quite some time spent watching the whales, we finally turned off to head for other activities. It was then that the real fun began. The whales, perhaps meeting an incoming group, suddenly began a wild bout of tail-lobbing and breaching. The boisterous creatures seemed intent on beating the water to foam. Drawing near, we saw many more lashing tails and spy-hops.
A short while later, we dropped anchor off of Turn Island and took Zodiacs ashore. This island is a state park, and has pleasant trails. We walked briefly on the island, looking at the vegetation and birds of this driest part of the Northwest Coast.
In the afternoon we docked at Friday Harbor. This, the “Capital of the San Juans,” is a nice place to window shop, and is home to the Whale Museum, which concentrates on killer whales.
Finally, in the late afternoon we left for Canada. We entered the harbour of Victoria just after dinner, and as darkness fell, the buildings of Victoria lit up. After an evening stroll along the waterfront, we looked forward to a day spent in this attractive city.
