Olivia | September 30th, 2019 | M/V Sea Lion | 12:00pm
Today was SO magical! We left Friday Harbor heading north through the San Juan Channel and cutting through Spieden Channel in order to end up near Henry Island. All along the way we saw swimming Harbor Seals and Harbor Porpoises! However, what really took our breath away was seeing a big male Southern Resident Killer Whale! It was beautiful right in the sunshine! I may use an excessive amount of exclamation points in this blog, but my excitement has yet to die down from how incredible it was out on the water! Not only did we see that male, but several of the J, K, and L Pods all intermingling.
It was a rare sight to be seeing these Orcas, but we also had the privilege of watching pectoral slaps, lobtails, spy hops, and breaching! We had quite the viewing. In addition to all of that, we took conscious moments to listen to them breathe and roll around with one another.
After a glorious moment of watching them travel south on our western side of San Juan Island, we headed back north around Spieden Island, weaving through the Cactus Islands spotting Bald Eagles, Harbor Seals, and even Mouflon Sheep grazing on the [now] green slopes.
Sadly, today was my last day of work for the season and being able to experience the critically endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales (some of each pod) with Captain Sarah and about 19 beautiful humans was the most magical way to tip off the season. So grateful for the respect, compassion, and love this company has for the islands and all the spectacular wildlife.