It was clear and sunny with a footnote. The footnote is "sunny for Arctic November" which means that the sky is white with a pinkish hue rather than blue with wispy white clouds. The sun itself was not really visible above the horizon after noon.
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| Photo credit: Donna N. |
We did have lovely sun earlier in the morning when we met the Orca pod. Their wet skin reflected the light beautifully.
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| Photo credit: Tony G. |
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| Photo credit: Tony G. |
We cruised along at a leisurely pace, there was some wind but I was dressed properly thanks to my good friend Dan Foster at Deco Stop Outdoor Centre in Lancaster ON.
I wore merino wool socks, Helly Hansen long underwear with a Waterproof brand 3D Mesh Tec undersuit over those. I put a pair of Lululemon winter pants over that plus my insulated down skirt.
Then I put a Merino wool sweater over the Mesh Tec top and layered a fleece jacket, a down vest and finally a windproof shell with a fleecy neck warmer. On my head was a snug neoprene cap topped off with my Tibetan Tuque of Rainbow Pom Poms (made with love by yours truly). With two pairs of gloves and one pair of binoculars, four hours outside went by fairly quickly.
Unfortunately, we didn't see any wildlife but the Norwegian sea and landscapes were entertainment enough. Peak after snow-capped peak of huge mountains piercing the pink sky surrounded us through the fjords. At the base of those mountains, very dark soil sometimes with rocky beaches were dotted with little wooden structures. It felt like we were so removed from civilization but Norway's coasts are relatively densely populated. Just when you think you're finally in the middle of nowhere, somebody's hometown fishing village would come into view!
Lunch today was a seafood soup featuring mussels cooked in a white wine and tomato bouillon. We could smell it cooking and no one was disappointed when it was finally served to the eager guests. With some nice bread and butter, this warmed us up and we stayed outside until around 3 pm when it started getting too dark to spot whales.
We took turns getting kitted up in drysuits, gloves and hoods from the Sula's seemingly endless inventory. The neoprene suits are not the easiest to don and you basically have the flexibility of the Michelin Man in bondage gear but it will be warm in the freezing water. For some, the nylon trilaminate suits were a better fit but the neoprene made the squeeze over my *ahem* integrated buoyancy compensators (I'm a bit busty) so that's what I'll be wearing. I brought my own mask & snorkel & fins from home. For those readers that want to know more about the drysuit gear and how to use it, definitely take a trip to a local scuba diving shop to try some on or rent a suit and take a course! I actually hoped that we would have had the opportunity to try on the suits AND familiarise ourselves with their use before our first swim with the Orca but I guess it wasn't possible. The previous week, there had been precious few opportunities to swim with the whales so the crew didn't want to waste time and daylight with us newbies paddling around for nothing.
As each person went down into the hold for their fitting, the remaining group exchanged stories in the common room. I watched a video taken in Rurutu, Tahiti. The video begins with three adult Humpback whales calmly gliding through the water alongside a small group of snorkelers. As they pass, a large Oceanic Whitetip Shark comes into view but it posed no threat. The camera pans to a group of around 10 Pilot Whales calmly resting below the surface. SINGLE SHOT NO EDITING. I was drooling with awe. In turn, pretty much everyone had either a photo, a video or an incredible story to share. For that alone, this trip was such a terrific buy for someone like me.
We gathered at 6 pm for another presentation about Orca behaviour and communication by expert Pierre Robert de Latour. He described in detail his research about the application of Proxemics or the whales' use of social space (previously described by Anthropologist Edward T. Hall) to create the proper environment for positive underwater encounters. Just like humans, whales have a personal bubble. A mother and child or a husband and wife can be a foot apart comfortably but if a stranger stood that close to you, it's kind of ooky, right?
For whales, they have an intimate zone and a social zone. We are strangers so the idea is to graze the periphery of their 40 meter social bubble. What we are hoping for is that they choose to close the gap and interact with the human by including them in the social zone. There is no intrusion, the whales have the opportunity to engage or retreat at their leisure.
Dinner was medium-rare reindeer filet with herb butter and potatoes au gratin and cole slaw.
I feel like that last sentence could never do a decent job of describing exactly how exquisite that meal was. I polled the other guests and no one photographed it and there were zero leftovers. It will forever be the meal that I will never forget but that I can not prove ever occurred.
We pulled into the dock at around 8:30 pm beside a very...how shall I say ...fragrant? Yes, fragrant fish processing plant on the island of Skjervøya. Please enjoy the view from my upper bunk port hole.
There were mountains of these nets full of fresh fish, some with clouds of pungent steam still billowing. Much to my dismay, there were no legions of adorable Norwegian Forest cats showing up to steal the catch of the day.
A fellow guest and I spontaneously broke into the Fish Heads song. It was glorious.
While a few adventurous Ozzies ventured into the town's pub, I bunked down to write about the trip report and to dream of stinky Herring.
I wore merino wool socks, Helly Hansen long underwear with a Waterproof brand 3D Mesh Tec undersuit over those. I put a pair of Lululemon winter pants over that plus my insulated down skirt.
Then I put a Merino wool sweater over the Mesh Tec top and layered a fleece jacket, a down vest and finally a windproof shell with a fleecy neck warmer. On my head was a snug neoprene cap topped off with my Tibetan Tuque of Rainbow Pom Poms (made with love by yours truly). With two pairs of gloves and one pair of binoculars, four hours outside went by fairly quickly.
Unfortunately, we didn't see any wildlife but the Norwegian sea and landscapes were entertainment enough. Peak after snow-capped peak of huge mountains piercing the pink sky surrounded us through the fjords. At the base of those mountains, very dark soil sometimes with rocky beaches were dotted with little wooden structures. It felt like we were so removed from civilization but Norway's coasts are relatively densely populated. Just when you think you're finally in the middle of nowhere, somebody's hometown fishing village would come into view!
Lunch today was a seafood soup featuring mussels cooked in a white wine and tomato bouillon. We could smell it cooking and no one was disappointed when it was finally served to the eager guests. With some nice bread and butter, this warmed us up and we stayed outside until around 3 pm when it started getting too dark to spot whales.
We took turns getting kitted up in drysuits, gloves and hoods from the Sula's seemingly endless inventory. The neoprene suits are not the easiest to don and you basically have the flexibility of the Michelin Man in bondage gear but it will be warm in the freezing water. For some, the nylon trilaminate suits were a better fit but the neoprene made the squeeze over my *ahem* integrated buoyancy compensators (I'm a bit busty) so that's what I'll be wearing. I brought my own mask & snorkel & fins from home. For those readers that want to know more about the drysuit gear and how to use it, definitely take a trip to a local scuba diving shop to try some on or rent a suit and take a course! I actually hoped that we would have had the opportunity to try on the suits AND familiarise ourselves with their use before our first swim with the Orca but I guess it wasn't possible. The previous week, there had been precious few opportunities to swim with the whales so the crew didn't want to waste time and daylight with us newbies paddling around for nothing.
As each person went down into the hold for their fitting, the remaining group exchanged stories in the common room. I watched a video taken in Rurutu, Tahiti. The video begins with three adult Humpback whales calmly gliding through the water alongside a small group of snorkelers. As they pass, a large Oceanic Whitetip Shark comes into view but it posed no threat. The camera pans to a group of around 10 Pilot Whales calmly resting below the surface. SINGLE SHOT NO EDITING. I was drooling with awe. In turn, pretty much everyone had either a photo, a video or an incredible story to share. For that alone, this trip was such a terrific buy for someone like me.
We gathered at 6 pm for another presentation about Orca behaviour and communication by expert Pierre Robert de Latour. He described in detail his research about the application of Proxemics or the whales' use of social space (previously described by Anthropologist Edward T. Hall) to create the proper environment for positive underwater encounters. Just like humans, whales have a personal bubble. A mother and child or a husband and wife can be a foot apart comfortably but if a stranger stood that close to you, it's kind of ooky, right?
For whales, they have an intimate zone and a social zone. We are strangers so the idea is to graze the periphery of their 40 meter social bubble. What we are hoping for is that they choose to close the gap and interact with the human by including them in the social zone. There is no intrusion, the whales have the opportunity to engage or retreat at their leisure.
Dinner was medium-rare reindeer filet with herb butter and potatoes au gratin and cole slaw.
I feel like that last sentence could never do a decent job of describing exactly how exquisite that meal was. I polled the other guests and no one photographed it and there were zero leftovers. It will forever be the meal that I will never forget but that I can not prove ever occurred.
We pulled into the dock at around 8:30 pm beside a very...how shall I say ...fragrant? Yes, fragrant fish processing plant on the island of Skjervøya. Please enjoy the view from my upper bunk port hole.
There were mountains of these nets full of fresh fish, some with clouds of pungent steam still billowing. Much to my dismay, there were no legions of adorable Norwegian Forest cats showing up to steal the catch of the day.
A fellow guest and I spontaneously broke into the Fish Heads song. It was glorious.
While a few adventurous Ozzies ventured into the town's pub, I bunked down to write about the trip report and to dream of stinky Herring.
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