Swimming With Belugas

Today, I stepped off the side of a small aluminium boat into the sunlit waves of Hudson Bay. I felt the dry suit tighten around me like shrink wrap as I hit the freezing waters and then I placed my face under the waves and saw a whale swim up to greet me. She was swimming on her back, her beautiful strange body gliding through the murky water perhaps fifteen feet away from my feet, her curious eyes and half smile twinkling up at me, pure magic, pure happiness, a moment when my life could not be more perfect than to be right here, right now.

Twisting and Laughing at the end of my tow rope, smiling so much I broke the seal on the snorkel and spluttered on the numbing seawater, for over a hour I swam with these incredible whales, each new pod coming by to check us out. First a white shadow out of the corner of my eye, then a distinguishable tail or a glimpse of a flipper before a face would shimmer closer and take my breath away. I felt an honest sense of eye contact and acknowledgement, crazy and wonderful.

If only the water was a tad warmer, I would have stayed there forever, but when my body started uncontrollable shaking I reluctantly made my way back to the boat, where Wally grabbed the back of my suit and unceremoniously pulled me over the side where i flopped in like a seal.

We had the best clarity of a tough season when heavy rains had stirred up excessive silt in the water and many tourists had left sadly disappointed unable to even see their hands in the water, never mind the whales circling below, we hit lucky with the weather, the whales, the water, and icing on the cake - It was all free, part of the thanks for working hard for the whole season at Lazy Bear.

Life is bloody awesome!