MICS-Blue Whale study trip-September 8th 2018

My latest blog entries will tell about my experiences doing a Blue Whale Research Session with the Mingan Island Cetacean Study in the Gulf of St-Lawrence in Quebec. Their website at https://www.rorqual.com tells all about the work that they do.

I traditionally begin my trip reports with details about the airport and flight experience. Usually there is some moment which I can use to encapsulate the feeling of embarking on a new adventure and springboard the reader into my frame of mind.

This trip, well, it's a little different because I'm honestly not that far from home.

I walked down the street, took a city bus to the airport, got on a thirty minute flight on a 78 seater Bombardier Q400 aircraft where I had a thirty minute stopover in Quebec City, enjoyed one sip from the drinking fountain near the restrooms and then boarded a 37 seater Dash-8-100 where there was barely enough time to have a soda before touchdown in Gaspé!

There was actually one funny moment on the flight from Quebec City in this teeny tiny propeller aircraft. It was too small to accommodate a jetway so we had to exit the air terminal, walk on the tarmac and board using three little steps.

After taxiing to the runway we stopped and that seemed normal for a time but that time gradually extended to longer than usual. The flight attendant informed us that the plane was too heavy for take off and needed to burn off some excess fuel.

The passengers all groaned and whispered little comments to their neighbour. My first thought was "that's not very environmentally friendly" but in typical get-'em-to laugh-by-any-means-necessary-fashion this class clown yelled "Alright, who had too much poutine?" in French.

It was after dark when we landed at the small regional airport where I was greeted by two friendly students who work for the Mingan Island Cetacean Study (MICS).

Florine and Bertrand are both from France and have travelled around the world doing research on marine mammals and they would be my tutors and guides during this week-long Blue Whale intensive trip. I was a little surprised to discover that I was the only participant during this session but I was pleased. What luck to be able to have all the Blues to myself without having to share.

They helped me get my gear into the pick-up truck and we drove off into the night.