I approached the Whale trip in the
Dominican Republic with much anticipation and a little trepidation.
Would we see them? Were they safe? Could I live on a boat 85 miles from
land for a week? Well, I was soon to find out.
After a 5 hour crossing we arrived at our destination in the Silver
Banks. We wasted no time the first day boarding “The Duck”, a rubber boat that
we would motor out in search of a chance to see and be near a Humpback Whale. We didn’t
have to wait long. Wade, our Captain spotted them and instructed us how to slip quietly
into the water with our mask, fins, and snorkel. |
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I had my
disposable water proof camera attached to my swim suit. As I stuck my head under the water
I saw something big and white.I started clicking away with my camera, then “it”
moved. The Big White Thing was a pectoral fin attached to a really really Big Whale just
feet from me. I gasped in awe, fear, and amazement.
The fear evaporated in seconds and was replaced by a wash of
excitement, peace, and wonder. She was quietly watching us along with her baby (calf). Mom
proceeded to nurse her baby who would stop and peak at us from under mom’s white peck
fin. They looked like Angels of the deep. How did I get so lucky as to be this close to
such magnificent beautiful creatures? When the baby was done nursing they came up higher
for a closer look at us. Eye to eye, nose to nose, sharing the same ocean and spot in
time.
My experience was that when these whales looked into my eyes it
penetrated my very being. It was a sense of peace and understanding that is hard to put
into words. When they quietly submerged and swam away, I had such a feeling of gratitude.
That was my first encounter with the Humpback Whales. In preceding days
we would watch them slap the water with their pecks, do tail slaps, eye hops and push
their giant bodies into the air looking to me like giant pickles.
On another occasion we had the privilege of a male whale singing to us
for about an hour. We were right above him. We could hear and feel him but not see him.
WOW, I could feel his song in a different part of my body each time he changed his tune. I
was vibrating with his energy.
It was wonderful, energizing, balancing and peaceful all at the same
time. One of those suspended moments in time when I felt at one and total peace with the
universe.
The experience changed me. All of the experiences with the whales
filled me with a sense of wonder, love and gratitude. The Whale trip was wonderful, I met
new people and made new friends. The ocean was beautiful, the skies ever changing, the
sunsets bright and colorful, the stars at night beam like a blanket of diamonds
thrust over the night sky.
This was an experiential trip I highly recommend. I felt privileged to
have been one of the lucky ones to have had this experience.
Lynn Korf
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