Whale
watching! It's something I always wanted to do. And once the decision was
made the impatience got worse by the day and then by the minute. Now,
finally I am on the boat! The golden rays of the morning sun, glance off the
water, and impair my vision somewhat. The boat was moving through choppy
waters. I held the railing tight even as the work of the waves and the
movement of the vessel saw water splashing on the deck.
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| Dolphins, in comparison, may have seemed small fry |
"Mullu....Mulli..." someone yelled. The boat changed
direction and we saw dolphins hurdling across the surface. Most of the
guests were impressed and even amazed, but the wonderful sight almost went
unnoticed by the boatmen. But perhaps their seeming disinterest was due
to the grander stuff that was in store. Dolphins, in comparison, may have
seemed small fry, so to speak.
Ours was not the only boat in those waters at that time. There
were dozens of other vessels. If something interesting was seen the
information would be promptly shared with those in the other boats. The boatmen kept communicating with
one another through mobile phones. This meant we were still quite close
to the shore. The land was just a thin strip of blue. We were
moving parallel to the shore, due east.
 |
| The boatman received a message |
We had left the Mirissa Fisheries Harbour around 6.30 in the morning.
Mirissa is on the Southern tip of the island of Sri Lanka. The
whale-watching season begins in late November and continues until April. There
are many offering boat services to would-be whale-watchers and since there are
a large number of them, we had been advised to book our boat early. This
we had done.
Anyway, we had already been at sea for more than five hours and were yet
to sight a whale. Time was running out. We were naturally
disappointed when the boat was turned around. A group of young girls
didn't seem to mind though; they were chatting, giggling and yelling
incessantly.
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| Spouting from the blow-hole |
However, our luck turned. The boatman received a message when we
had already travelled six nautical miles. He didn't hesitate. He
promptly turned the boat around again. There were dozens of boats already
at the location we had been directed to, but still nothing to be seen.
And, then! There it was! By the side of the boat.
Spouting from the blow-hole. The largest animal on the planet. A
blue whale! It came up, almost as if to say 'Ok, take a good look!' and
then dived back into the water. Tail last.
 |
| 'Ok, take a good look!' |
Naturally,
everyone anticipated another surfacing. A few minutes passed. And
then again it came up, but this time a few hundred meters away from our boat.
It was an amazing sight. The sheer size of the creature astounded
us. Its true dimensions became apparent simply because we could compare
it with the size of the people on the boats.
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