Watching the Whales

The boat for the whale watching cruise

So many touristy things to do in Hawaii.  And, oh by the way, I am a tourist.  So that means:  it's time to do something touristy.  A whale watching cruise.

The plan was to meet the cruise boat in the harbor south of Kona Town.  There were a lot of boats so it took awhile to see the sign for "Hawaiian Adventures."  But then there was our boat for the next three hours. 

The Artemis.  Seats about 30 or so cruisers.

We did see whales.  We did see dolphins.  Dolphins are easier to photograph for multiple reasons.

The fin for one thing.  Part of the dolphin is usually above the surface.  And they travel in packs.  And they come out of the water more frequently and more completely.  And, this next comment is a matter of perspective, they swim closer to the boat or else the boat can get closer to them.  Not sure which is which.

These are what are known as "spinner" dolphins.  Sometimes when they jump out of the water, they spin in the air.  It's brief.  It's not every jump out of the water.  But we did see if multiple times.  See:  yes.  Photograph:  no.

This wasn't prime dolphin time, but plenty were out and putting on a show.

Yes.  The water really was that blue in parts.  No special filters being used here.

End of the dolphin show.  Off to hunt some more whale.

We did see three sets of whales, which, as I understand it from talking with people who've done whale-watching cruises before, is typical.  Apparently tour operators only have the funds to pay for three sets of whales per tour to go out and perform and entertain.

We saw a mother and baby humpback whale very quickly after we left harbor.  Then we saw a pod of males likely duking it out for mating supremacy.  It's that time of year.  And, right as we were approaching the harbor to return, we saw another mother and baby.

This time I was attuned to how you photograph whales moving through the water in such a way as to get a photograph of a whale in water instead of just water.

Thar she blows.

It was a quick three hours.  We got to see sea mammals up close and personal.  Humpback whales and spinner dolphins.

But it was time to return to harbor since I paid for only three hours and I got about three hours and five minutes of sea mammal watching.

Back to harbor.

Where we saw a boat that identified as a shark.

And, one last animal species was sighted in these waters.

A sea turtle!  With a bunch of barnacles on his/her (not sure of the pronouns here) shell.  Something we did not see at the Sea Turtle Sanctuary on the Big-Population, Small-Size Island.

Late lunch was at a local brew pub.

I had, of all things:

Hawaiian pizza.  In Hawaii.  It actually was billed as "Hawaiian Luau" pizza, with kalua pork, pineapple, onion, and -- for some reason -- I did not see this at my luau the other night -- goat cheese.  All of a layer of BBQ sauce.  The goat cheese took over on the bites that had goat cheese.  The pineapple played well with the pork, as pineapple often does.  For a beverage, I had a Lavaman Red Ale.  A nice dark color.  Locally brewed Hawaiian beer, like beer in Latin America, is generally pale and weak.  This had color and flavor.  Enough flavor to at least fight to a draw with the goat cheese on the Hawaiian pizza.