My husband and I just got back from a trip around the Olympic Peninsula.  A high point was whale watching out of Port Townsend on July 21st.  We got a gift from an Orca, who came over to check us out.  The whale swam right up to the boat and I had a video camera running.

We’d been watching the whales for about 10 minutes and one seemed to be moving towards us.  Some instinct caused me to move from still camera on my iPhone, where I kept getting the “after glow” of a whale’s fin, to video mode.

Just as I made the change, the Orca surfaced.   Like my previous still attempts, I caught a fin in the opening moments of the video.   Ah, the magic of video!  I left the camera running and am I glad I did.  About 16 seconds in, the Orca surfaced, and swam right up to the boat.  Unlike the whale that crashed into the sail boat in South Africa on the same day (!?), this whale swam parallel to the boat.  What a gift!

I continue sending my thanks to the whale for coming over to say hello.

PS Express led the half-day tour we took.  If you’re ever in Port Townsend, it’s worth the trip.

Oh yes, the video:

You can also view it directly on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJIkRVJZnmE