Snorkeling with the pilot Whales was a beautiful experience. At any moment anything exciting could happen. We were sitting in the dining area, just sitting there having a good time and laughing, when suddenly, we hear the captain come over the radio and say “There are dolphins about 20 meters in front of the boat.” We all stood up and went outside. I was excited as I had never been able to swim with dolphins before. I was out there for about 10 minutes and still no dolphins.
As we were waiting to see them, we hear the captain say, “Up ahead! it looks like Pilot Whales! I immediately took off and ran to tell my mom as she was in her room getting ready for dinner and was all dressed with her hair done. We run outside to the back deck and huddle around the corner where the boat is while the dive masters get the boat ready for us. We get the boat set up but it was a bit hard as the water was very rough and choppy.
We cruise around for a minute and see three Whales. My side was starboard and I jumped out first but the whales immediately swam down to the bottom. I wasn’t able to catch even a glimpse of the pilot whales but the dive masters were determined to get us the experience that we wanted.
It was time for the port side guests to dive in, Stein counted down 3..2..1 and they all dove in and swam towards the whales and got an extraordinary look at them. Everyone was yelling with excitement. They were loaded back onto the boat and it was our turn now. We searched and found a big pod of Whales and jumped out. The Whales were right there, right in front of us, a whole family with a newborn baby. They let us get about 5 feet from them until they dove back down into the abyss. We hopped back on the boat and went a few more times. Everyone was so happy, Stein even ordered drinks for us over the radio. We came back and enjoyed the sunset while having our drinks, laughing in the dining area with excitement, and realizing how big an opportunity it was to get to swim with the beautiful giants that the whales are.
