We had been planning this weekend for a long time—well, not just a weekend, but another one of our "weekend events"—but for several weeks in a row, our plans were ruined by the weather...
There are various cruise tours available at Hampton Beach:
- Pirate tour: a kind of costumed, mini-theatrical show on the water, if you can call it that ;D, with a route supposedly following old pirate haunts;
- Fishing tour: tourists are given rods and taken to the best fishing spots, where the fish are, naturally, already specially fed;
- Whale watch: you can head out into the open ocean and see REAL WHALES!!!!!
We were interested in the last option. I don't know what you think of our idea, but just the thought of the upcoming sea trip and meeting W-H-A-L-E-S made me wild with excitement! :)
And then the day arrived! Our weeks of waiting were rewarded with amazing weather. This put us in an even better mood. We bought tickets (they cost the same for all tours, about 30-40$) and boarded the ship. We were warned that the "trip" would last at least 4 hours, as we would need to sail to the whales' supposed feeding grounds, observe them, take plenty of photos, and still make it back before dark.
It took about forty minutes to reach the "designated" spot. During that time, we enjoyed the fresh sea air, the beautiful view, and, of course, TOOK PHOTOS, and I dare say that every square centimeter of the boat ended up in a shot :)))
...When we were suddenly told we had arrived, all the passengers on the ship went into "readiness level 1" mode—meaning they jumped up and grabbed their cameras. But for the next half hour, only one whale appeared, and it turned out to be very shy and hurried to hide from us... Time passed, and the ship's captain, along with the guide, tried to spot whales in the area with binoculars to know "WHERE TO HEAD NEXT" :D. We were all starting to get bored when, suddenly and completely unexpectedly, just a meter from the side of the boat, 3(!) whales surfaced at once, swimming parallel to our ship as if on purpose and demonstratively (like they were working off a contract, someone joked :DDDD).
All our expectations were met! These majestic animals are simply beautiful! They are striking in their size and fascinating in their grace!
Soon the whales disappeared back into the sea depths, waving their huge tail fins in farewell, but another surprise awaited us...
While we were watching the "wonder-fish" swim away, someone noticed that the whales were swimming "a bit too close to each other, as if pressed together." Our guide explained that two young males were courting a female. And then, right before our amazed eyes, one of them, trying to win her favor, began to demonstrate his strength: about 50 meters away from us, he breached halfway out of the water and began to zealously slap the surface with his massive tail! That was a SIGHT! IT TAKES YOUR BREATH AWAY!
We took a bunch of priceless shots, filmed videos, "killed" two digital cameras, and returned home happy and satisfied that we had lived another day in our lives exactly as we wanted! We WISH THE SAME FOR YOU!
...and as a P.S., I'd like to add: whales are not just 35-45 tons of living weight, but also just very beautiful animals!..
