Where in the World?

The last stop on our return to Seattle was in Victoria, British Columbia on Vancouver Island. We could tell this was an interesting city, but unfortunately we didn’t have any time to tour the city as our last excursion was a boat trip to view orca or killer whales hunting in the evening.

Every summer two or three pods (about 20 – 40 per pod) of orcas feed in the waters between Victoria and the United States. The primary source of food during their brief summer visit is salmon. The boat ride out was about 45 minutes long, so we were several miles off the coast of Victoria and in fact were within the waters of the U.S.A.

Our captain quickly found a group of orcas hunting and feeding. These creatures move incredibly fast and I found it very difficult to photograph them and also deal with a boat that was rocking due to the many waves in the open water. Persistence paid off and I was able to get several decent photos for my first orca portrait shoot.

It was amazing to watch them work the salmon in pairs or in threes. As they were moving constantly our captain guided our boat as best as he could to follow with them. We witnessed several large males breaching; i.e. jumping completely out of the water. It was magic and we all felt like we were part of a National Geographic movie.

One of the naturalists that tour with us told an amazing story of an orca coming right up to the boat and showing a large freshly caught salmon in his mouth. And then, unbelievable as it may sound, the orca then went to two other boats to show off his salmon catch. The guide told us that orcas are very social within their species but sometimes show that behavior outside of their own kind. Quite incredible!

On our way back to the cruise ship, we stopped briefly to see several large harbor seals resting on the rocks around a lighthouse station. These animals were huge.

The cruise ship was all lit up when we returned and it was stunning to see. It’s hard to believe this is our last night on the ship. We are headed to Seattle tonight and disembark early tomorrow morning. Seeing some sights in Seattle is on our agenda tomorrow before flying back to the east coast on Monday.

Michael