Captain Pete and I were on our second trip of the day ready to be out on the water during the golden hour and hopefully encounter some animals! With very excited guests, we headed up North to see if we could find the same orcas we were with during our day trip. Apparently, these guys were covering lots of ground and moving North quick. We were worried that they would get away from us but decided to go up that way regardless. We were hopeful that we would get a good look at them before heading back to the harbor and catching a beautiful sunset. The trip up was fast, but the water was calm, and the current was with us, which was very helpful! It took us about an hour and a half to catch up to these whales swimming towards Prevost Island, but as soon as we saw those dorsal fins and misty spouts in the distance, it was so worth it! This was the same group of transient orcas we had been with earlier and they have a massive teenage male whose dorsal fin is very distinct by the size and various notches. It was pleasant to see that as soon as we got there, they stopped moving so fast and surprisingly stayed by our boat’s side for the whole time we were with them. We got some great views of their dorsal fins and on some breaths, they even showed us their eye patches! The whales came close enough for us to be able to turn our motor off and listen to their exhalations; this is always such a wonderful sound! Time was ticking, and we needed to head back before it got too dark, so we peeled off after half an hour with these guys and headed back home. Down the Swanson Channel we went while the sun was already setting behind us. The colors were incredible, with purple and pink taking over the blue skies. The guests and I kept facing the stern to catch more and more of this sunset as well as some porpoises quickly surfacing in the distance. As we approached San Juan Channel, we could see some fog setting in. We stayed close to the shore on the way to the harbor as it was so foggy you could no longer see Orcas or Shaw off the side of the boat.
Mariana, Naturalist, San Juan Safaris