It was an epic and memorable trip in May’17, which was originally intended for WL and her friend CY to attend their friend’s wedding in Vancouver. It eventually panned out to be a partial road trip for the 3 of us, and then slowly evolved to be an activities-filled 16-day YOLO trip. Follow the entries to read about the daily happenings!
Day 4: Whale-watching
We signed ourselves up with Vancouver Whale Watch, so we set off for Steveston Village, which is where our Lightship sets off from. Getting there wasn't too
hard, but it involved taking the skytrain to the last station of the line (Richmond-Brighouse), and then transferring to a bus. A total of 45 minutes from downtown Vancouver.
We got dressed up in our gear and set off from harbour in the late morning. We chose the Lightship option, as it's an open-air high-speed boat, which would be thrilling and fun, even if we ended up not seeing anything.
On the way out into the Strait, we already saw some wildlife - different breeds of sea lions, bald eagles, seagulls and harbour seals. Then, based on some tip-offs, the crew drove us to a part of the sea where a killer whale was said to be seen.
There were 2 or 3 other whale-watching boats there when we reached, so it had to be right. After a small wait, we saw the killer whale from quite a distance. We attempted to approach nearer, but it is never clear where whales are actually headed, as they tend to stay underwater for a long time, and their direction and course might have changed underwater. This killer whale that they saw was rather elusive, only surfacing a few times in between long waits. After a few more small glimpses, the crew decided to head elsewhere.
We sailed quite a distance to another part of the Strait, further south and just along the maritime border to the US. Here, we spotted 2 humpback whales close to shore. It was also at a distance, but I could tell that they were quite majestic. It was pretty interesting seeing them breathe - a succession of blows near the surface of the water, followed by a sighting of the fluke, and then they would disappear for some time. To me, it was surreal being able to see them in their natural habitat. I was glad to be on this tour.
The tour guide was very knowledgeable too. She explained about the different species of sea lions, seals and whales, and could even name the resident whales that we saw, with their gender and estimated age, and whether they had been frequently sighted. So much passion with the wildlife!
To me, I felt like I got much more than what I paid for. Perfect weather, great guide, the lifetime opportunity of seeing the marine wildlife up close with my eyes, superb speedy boat and spectacular views of snow-capped Mt Baker (in the US) as well as the countless island scenery.
Back to shore, we spent a while exploring Steveston village, which really had good vibes. It was a bright day, and the harbour seemed to emanate exuberance. We had seafood lunch here, and ended with nice ice-cream. Coincidentally, we found ourselves relatively near to Ian+Katrina's place, so we made our way there on foot for a last-minute house visit.
