Today, I did one of my favorite summer activities: whale watching! I remember going to Grandma and Granddaddy's house in Boothbay, getting some "pink flavored" ice cream and going on the Pink Lady to see the humpbacks.
Well, this trip was a bit different. For starters, Hermanus is about an hour and a half out of Cape Town and there is no public transportation there, so you have to sign up for a whale watching tour. This little South African lady named Lisa picked me up at 8:30 this morning and then 2 other "backpackers" from another hostel. She took us along the scenic route and we stopped three or four times for pictures and toilet breaks. The 90 minute ride stretched into almost 3 hours. She mentioned that once we got into Hermanus we would have the option of going on a boat. This caught us all by surprise because we thought it was all included in the price. After a brief dispute between the Austrian girl, Evana, and Lisa, we all had to pay for the boat ride. Apparently here in South Africa you don't always need a boat to see the whales.
The boat was not big and ferry-like. It looked like one of those small luxury boats you see tied up to Georgetown waterfront or maybe the dinghies in Nantucket to get to the "real" boat. The waves were massive. My mother and Unc most definitely would have been sick the entire time. It's the very beginning of breeding season here. The whales that are the most popular are the Southern Right Whale. They got their name from being the right whale to hunt, back when whale hunting was legal, in the Southern Hemisphere because they're slow and fat. We were able to see 3 Southern Rights and got about 60 feet from two of them just floating in the shallow waters. We also saw one Bryde's whale, pronounced like Brutus, which is very rare because they're so shy. We caught one glimpse of him and then he was gone. A seal and penguin played around the boat for a bit. And then about 50 dolphins came to visit. It was amazing. The water was so clear that you could see them racing the boat.
I'm having some technical difficulties with getting the right cord to connect my camera to my computer, but as soon as I get one I'll post some pictures. It's a bit unnerving watching my battery slowly get lower. Unfortunately, or maybe not, they don't have a big Best Buy or Wal-Mart that sells everything. Today, I went into a Kodak store and FujiFilm store. I had no idea those even existed.
I think tomorrow I am going to go to the V & A Waterfront. It's a working harbor that also has some great shopping and cafes. I'm getting antsy for my program to start. Traveling alone can be nice most of the time, but also kind of lonely. But, soon there will be pictures! I promise!
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