One of the main things I wanted to do in Vancouver was go whale-watching. We went with a company called Prince of Whales. However, although they did find us some killer whales (see pic below) I was quite disappointed as they spent a while trying to find the whales, and as soon as they did and we started getting good pictures, they decided to move the boat on. In fact, when we got really close, my camera battery died so I missed the opportunity. We saw three transient killer whales, but no large pod of resident orcas, and nothing else (such as bald eagles or porpoises like they said we would). Most of the boat trip was spent travelling through thick fog. However, at least we got to see a couple of wild whales. It was very exciting when they came out of the water.
We also saw beluga whales at the Vancouver Acquarium in Stanley Park. Not as exciting obviously as seeing whales in the wild, but fun nevertheless. The mother recently had a calf (2 months old) and her mother had also recently had a calf (14 months old) to the same father! So beluga society is quite strange. The beluga calfs are really cute; they are grey until they grow into beautiful white adult belugas.
Also, although we didn't see any bald eagles, we did see some at an eagle show, and there are also 170 painted eagles around the Vancouver area to celebrate the Vancouver Winter Olympics, which will be held in Feb 2010. The statues will be auctioned off after the Olympics for charity.
We also went up a mountain to the north of Vancouver called 'Grouse Mountain' in a cable car, where there were some orphan grizzly bears in a large enclosure. They were gentle giants, and we could get really close to them.
We also saw some wild deer on the mountain (mother and fawn).
Finally, yesterday we happened to see a seagull eating a large starfish! He swallowed it down whole.
You can see belugas in their natural habitats in Tadoussac (provided you visit the Saguenay in the summer, say, in August, just the right time to go pick wild blueberries)... But it's hard to get good pictures on a whale watching tour, where-ever you take it. I'm glad you had a fun time in Hongcouver, I didn't get to play the tourist much myself. It's just not has motivating to do this kind of thing all by yourself.
ReplyDeleteQuite a bit more dramatic than the animals (or scenery) in Brittany!
ReplyDeleteApart from the great wildlife those Eagle statues look tremendous. We see nothing as colourful or bold like that out here - everything sculptural blends into the Breton countryside in natural wood - I long sometimes for a splash of primary colours.
ReplyDeleteI once spent a lovely weekend in Montreal and thought that I could easily have lived there. It was a perfect mix of the best of North America and Europe.
Have a great break and time with your in-laws, Carrie