Thar She Blows!

I love a good adventure, and I particularly love the ocean. I even like whales, having once had a whale watching tour in coastal Newfoundland....and more recently at the Oromocto Mall. We're talking about huge mammals here, folks. From three hundred pounds up to sixty tons.

I do wonder, though, why have I never gone whale watching in my home province? On Sunday I found myself in St.Andrews. As I usually do when 'stuck' in a port so noble as to be named after a Saint who never even took the time to visit. I walked to the end of the pier to admire the boats. I wouldn't call them yachts, as yachts are found in Maine and further south.

Before making it to the end of the pier I spotted a group of like-dressed individuals walking ahead of me. They looked much like the crew of Apollo 13, heading to outer space, all dressed in red space suits. Their space suits were, in fact, Mustang survival suits. These are the suits that ocean goers wear when there's a chance that they might inadvertently end up in the drink. Without one of these survival suits, a swimmer would only last an hour before the cold Bay of Fundy waters would 'take them'. With one of these suits on, they can float in the cold waters for hours before the cold Bay of Fundy waters take them.

Having those few extra hours to live allows them to repent for their sins, and potentially see a few more whales. It's a good deal.

So why have I not gone whale watching in New Brunswick? Two reasons:

1) I. Am. Too. Cheap.
2) I identify whale watching with tourists, and in St. Andrews.....I. Am. Not. A. Tourist.

I don't ever want to be a tourist. I want to travel, but I don't like the idea of being a stereotypical tourist. I don't want to buy trinkets or watch historical 'theme' shows in the evening (hula dancing, for example). I don't want to stick my head through wooden lobster cut-outs and have my picture taken (actually, I love it! Wahoo!!). I don't want to wear a plastic bib when eating lobster. I don't even want to eat lobster when on vacation (see #1 whale watching reason). I don't want to do anything that involves getting in a line-up (hello Disney World!).

I would, however, like to see whales again. They are quite spectacular. I'm always amazed at how something that big can seem so graceful. It is a pity that so many of them are endangered, both in the oceans and the Oromocto Mall. The minkes, rights and humpbacks are not the authors of their own demise. The same can't be said for the humans.

Now, I'd better shut my blow hole before I offend some lethargic, lipid-ladened leviathan. Or some plankton pillaging, pelagic pachyderm.