Close Encounter with Whales
Meet some new friends: they’re smart, playful, and weigh 40 tons. You are bobbing up and down in the Atlantic Ocean. Under the surface, you stare into a blue so deep that you can hardly believe your eyes. You know the boat is just behind you, but the sea is just so big that it’s hard to imagine any other person is on the planet. In the distance you see a brighter shade of blue. It grows and brightens, until it is white. It takes a moment to process that this is the underbelly of a humpback whale, how can anything be so big and alive? The whale surfaces for air and notices you. How curious and strange you must be to her. She decides to have a closer look. Her name is “Awwwoooooooooooowwweeeee” in her language, but she’s used to people mispronouncing it as “Oh my God!”She decides to have a bit of fun and show off, completing a dance that makes you look absolutely clumsy in your snorkel gear. The only thing more amazing than the humpback is the fact that she’s as curious about you as you about her. And while you now have a new friend, you can’t text her. But she’ll be here next summer if you want to stop by for a visit.”