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Minke Whale

Sailing across the cool waters, I couldn’t help but smile and think to myself “I’ve done it. I’ve now been on every continent”. Just a few days earlie...
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Sailing across the cool waters, I couldn’t help but smile and think to myself “I’ve done it. I’ve now been on every continent”. Just a few days earlier, I had made my first continental landing onto Antarctica. As someone who is passionate about protecting the environment, raising awareness about wildlife conservation, and as someone who doesn’t mind being totally remote, Antarctica exceeded my expectations in every way. This particular morning was a little chilly. I stood on the bow of the ship looking down at chunks of ice as we sailed along. I remember thinking to myself “It looks like someone threw buckets of ice into the ocean”. Then, our expedition leader announced it was time for an excursion to a gentoo penguin colony. I hurried back to my room, put on my penguin hat (which gave me the nickname “Gentoo Girl” with the crew), my several layers of clothing, thick insulated wool socks, and my chunky waterproof boots. I grabbed my camera gear and headed out. Upon landing at the penguin colony, I was hit with a horrible stench and a loud cacophony of honking penguins. When it was time to leave, we piled into the zodiacs. Before heading back to the boat, our guide made a detour for some photo opportunities because on this particular day, the water was smooth as glass. Surrounded by cascading mountains being perfectly reflected in the calm Antarctic waters, I was mesmerized. Our guide, an expert on whales, mentioned to our zodiac group of 8 that on the expedition prior to ours, he had seen a minke whale around this area. While he said there are no guarantees we’ll see it, he said that minke whales are creatures of habit and asked if we wanted to try to find it. Of course, we said yes. We were in the bay less than ten minutes when our guide got really excited and said, “I see it!” This gorgeous minke whale popped up, staring us directly in the eyes. The water was so clear you could see all the way down to its flukes (whale tail). I quickly fumbled with my camera, barely turning it on and setting up the shot with enough time to get a picture. By some miracle, the zodiac didn’t topple over as the eight of us frantically scrambled to snap pictures and by some miracle, this was the only photograph I got of the whale before it disappeared. Minke whales are curious creatures, but he only popped up once. By the time our guide had radioed the other zodiacs and the rest of the group came to the bay, the minke whale was nowhere in sight. We were the ones who had this once in a lifetime experience. When I think back on this moment, I’m amazed at the fact that this huge creature could have easily sent us flying into the cold Antarctic waters. Instead, this gentle giant was just as curious as we were. This minke whale.
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