I have travelled coast to coast and never seen a whale in my life.
So, whenever I’m travelling on the ferry, I keep one eye on a book and one eye out the window. Depending on what I’m reading at the time, this is either a very effective strategy or no strategy at all.
On Wednesday, travelling from Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo, I spotted some dark shapes bobbing up and down in the water. It wasn’t driftwood this time – something was on the move.
I ran out on deck, greeted by another woman travelling on the ferry. We were both giddy about our powers of observation, but not sure what those surfacing dark shapes were.
“Are they whales?”
“No, too small.”
“Are they seals?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“Are they dolphins?”
“No, I don’t think so,” I answered. Then after a pause, I’m pretty sure I said, “Do they even have dolphins out here?”
Of course yes, you do get dolphins in the Pacific Ocean.
Where else would they be?
But by coincidence, the woman and I, the sole spotters on deck, were both from Great Lakes country — she visiting from Chicago, me a transplant from southwest Ontario — so maybe that explains why we couldn’t figure it out.
I could tell you plenty about beavers, raccoons and bass, but in my mind, dolphins are like palm trees, shining beacons of the hot tropics.
For those asking, I was also excited to spot palm trees in Vancouver. I’m a slow learner.
It was cold and wet, so we went back inside to mull over the mystery. But a few minutes later, a message came over the intercom and we had our answer: we were sailing right through a massive pod of dolphins.
Passengers poured out on deck, cheering and clapping for the agile creatures; masters of showmanship leaping and playing in the water.
Few things in life are more exciting than seeing an animal in the wild.
For a nature documentary junkie like me, it was a reminder for the winter months that the chances of seeing those magic moments correlates with being aware and outside.
