So, it was a big rubber raft, and with a motor on the boat that was really just a big speedboat. But when we were 75 feet away from a whale surfacing, I was still very aware that I was sitting in a big rubber boat.
Apparently the laws governing whaling force larger boats to remain a good distance away from the whale (100 meters or so) while smaller boats can get within 100 feet. So the "good" whale watching and photo safari tours keep you in a big rubber raft to get closer to an animal around 3 times as long as the boat you're riding in. It's also hard to ignore when you're speeding through the waves--I'm not a little girl, but there were a few times when I flew through the air as we went over a few of the bigger waves.
We saw a pretty decent amount of whales--apparently it's both mating season and birthing season for humpback whales down here, which translates into a lot of time on the surface. I couldn't help but feel bad for the whales, who towards the end of our trip were being chased by 9-12 boats every time they surfaced to try to find a girlfriend. In a four hour trip, I'd say we saw around 20 whales, which is certainly nothing to complain about. None of them compared to our boat ride home from the outdoor adventure tour, though, where a whale jumped completely out of the water. From what we've heard, this is unusual but not unheard of--older and very strong males will leap out instead of smacking their tails to prove how impressive they are to the girls. Worked on me!
This was our last tour for the week--we spent Thursday exploring the boardwalk and old downtown of Puerta Vallarta proper and enjoying the last few moments of sunshine by the pool.
Tomorrow, home to the snow.
Apparently the laws governing whaling force larger boats to remain a good distance away from the whale (100 meters or so) while smaller boats can get within 100 feet. So the "good" whale watching and photo safari tours keep you in a big rubber raft to get closer to an animal around 3 times as long as the boat you're riding in. It's also hard to ignore when you're speeding through the waves--I'm not a little girl, but there were a few times when I flew through the air as we went over a few of the bigger waves.
We saw a pretty decent amount of whales--apparently it's both mating season and birthing season for humpback whales down here, which translates into a lot of time on the surface. I couldn't help but feel bad for the whales, who towards the end of our trip were being chased by 9-12 boats every time they surfaced to try to find a girlfriend. In a four hour trip, I'd say we saw around 20 whales, which is certainly nothing to complain about. None of them compared to our boat ride home from the outdoor adventure tour, though, where a whale jumped completely out of the water. From what we've heard, this is unusual but not unheard of--older and very strong males will leap out instead of smacking their tails to prove how impressive they are to the girls. Worked on me!
This was our last tour for the week--we spent Thursday exploring the boardwalk and old downtown of Puerta Vallarta proper and enjoying the last few moments of sunshine by the pool.
Tomorrow, home to the snow.
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