First impressions - November 11-12 2017

In the lobby of the hotel, there were a few people hanging around but none of them stood out as obviously part of the tour. I mean, no one was holding an Orca stuffed animal or wearing a whale-shaped tuque. One lady seemed to be buzzing around a little bit more actively so I said "Annah?" and I was right. It was Annah Evington, our tour leader from Whaleswim Adventures.

I had discovered Whaleswim Adventures seven years earlier and did a 10-day tour in the Kingdom of Tonga to swim with Humpbacks. They run a terrific operation from New Zealand and Australia and this was their first excursion to Norway. I highly recommend that you check out their website.

Annah introduced me to some others as we waited for the rest of the group to coalesce. We’re a group of 13 people. I was the only Canadian, there were two Americans travelling together, another American lady currently living in Ireland and one solo Japanese man, the rest are Kiwis and Australian. Among the southern hemisphere folks, there is one couple and everyone else is travelling solo. Like me, these are adventurers that don't have anyone in their life crazy enough to do these extreme trips!

Two vans, one hauling a trailer pulled up and we met Norwegian Captain Olav and his first mate, Gijs from Holland. They loaded our gear and we made a quick stop to provision at the local liquor shop. When I saw the fancy bottles that the Australians were buying I was booze-shamed with my lame bag of rosé which I had thought would be such a great idea. So, peer pressure forced me to shell out for a bottle of Pineau des Charentes and 750 ml of locally produced Akkevit!

We made our way to the dock of the Sula: Legend of Orcas in Kjosen a 20 minute drive away. 

Kjosen harbour. Photo credit: Donna N.

Kjosen harbour. Photo credit Donna N.

Photo credit: Donna N.

The Sula is a a 90-foot boat which has been modified to accommodate eco-tourists on their Norwegian adventure. There are three decks. The top deck has the bridge, a washroom and some cabins. Down a very steep staircase which is basically a ladder, you access the main deck.

The main deck housed the galley and the lounge-dining area along with several cabins and another washroom. Forward on the main deck, you could exit through a heavy bulkhead door and see the area where wet gear was stored to dry, see down into the hold of equipment inventory and access the observation area or "crow's nest".

Here's a lousy video with my annoying voice

Another steep ladder led down to more passenger cabins and the crew area on the lower deck.

We enjoyed some cookies and fresh fruit while getting our room assignments and waiting for our bags to be unloaded from the trailer. We went around the room and introduced ourselves. It was so lovely to be among these people who have all had amazing adventures around the world. I saw videos and photos and heard stories of their previous encounters with all kinds of critters from Elephant Seals in Antarctica to actual Elephants in Asia. I’m definitely in a crowd of my peers because we are all passionate about marine mammals. We are all lovers of the sea and we all made this trip from far-away places.

The crew gave us a safety briefing and a trip plan followed by a presentation by French Orca Expert Pierre Robert de Latour explaining how we can safely and successfully approach the whales. Then we had a delicious dinner of ginger-marinated chicken breasts with coconut lime sauce, basmati rice and salad accompanied by a home-made bread prepared by Chef John and crew-member Felise from Sweden.

I shared a cabin with Christine from Australia. It’s a bit crowded when we are both trying to actively use the space at the same time but it’s manageable if we take turns. We have a porthole and lots of hooks and hanging rods as well as a cupboard for our stuff and space under the bottom bunk too. I was on the top bunk which is easy to mount but a little less easy to dismount...in the dark...while trying to be quiet. Oh well...part of the fun, that's my take on it!

360 degree cabin tour!

First night on the Sula was so warm that I slept on top of the covers and just used my silk sleeping bag. We were still berthed but the movement of the boat was perceptible and there was a two metre change in the water level due to the tide. A creaky gangway signalled every wave with a croaking groan but it added a sensory dimension to my memory of the first night of this trip.

I climbed down from the top bunk at 5:30 am and snagged the "best seat in the house" before rush hour then putzed around on the internet until 8:30 when Skipper Olav started the Sula on its journey. At 9 o'clock we enjoyed frittata with oatmeal and yogurt and some hard cheese and jam on homemade bread.

It was fleeting but we did see a cute pod of Orca this morning. Unfortunately, they were quickly surrounded by a fleet of 8 zodiacs full of whale watch day-trippers and our guide freaked out at how disrespectful of the whales' space they were. He said "I don't want to deal with this shit, let's find our own Orcas." so we began the 12 hour journey to the island of Skjervøya.