A 5.55am tuk tuk picked up this morning for our whale watching tour with Raja and the Whales. It has to be said, nothing wakes you up faster than a speedy, white knuckle tuk tuk ride through twisting, narrow streets. But once more we survived and so did the numerous animals and vehicle of near collision. Once we were checked in and on board, they served us coffee and ginger nuts, seasick tablets and a fruit platter to start the day. Fortunately we had brought our own tablets as theirs came with a warning of tired and drowsiness which resulted in half the boat looking knocked out later in the morning.

The trip started really well as within an hour two Fin whales graced us with their presence, followed by a pod of 30 plus Dolphins. Just like our previous whale watching trip, our hearts were accelerating in to cardiac arrest, it was so unbelievable. Just as the crew were serving breakfast the action carried on and everyone on the was totally ignoring them and squeezing together for the best view, apart from us. We see the situation as similar to the baggage claim. If everyone just stood back in comfortable space then everyone would be able to see better. The extra metre in which everybody squeezes together on one side of the boat causing a near capsize doesn't magnify your view of a whale that is 100m away. IDIOTS. Our boat was more respectful of the whales and kept a good distance but other tour companies were chasing the whales and became very invasive. When this began to happen our boat left for a 1000m deep canyon that runs the length of the southern coast. In the hour it took to get there it became clear why the crew were so desperate to feed us ginger and motion sickness pills. The journey was SWELL, put it that way and the majority started to feel the motion of the ocean. We were soon distracted when a blue whale surface right in front of the boat and we watched it dive and surface for the next few hours. Incredible. It was 24m long and with the boats engine off and everybody in silence, the day became even better as we watched it's behaviour. On the way back we spotted more Fin whales and hundreds of Dolphins followed the boat. The crew told us how they are involved with the international conservation of whales and what they do to get a better understanding of them and educate people about them.
The beach provided the perfect afternoon spot for us to write "Matty's tip of the tongue" xmas day quiz which everyone thinks they are missing out on. It is one of the main reasons we are going back, so Matt can annoyingly present his quiz.....NOT.
M & C xxxx