Whale Watching in Maine by Emma Sears

One of the most surreal experiences of my summer vacation was going whale-watching in Bar Harbor, Maine with my family and our very close friends. We were very lucky to view the humpback whales in their natural habitat, a sight that not everyone gets to experience in their lifetime.

To see the whales, we boarded a catamaran-style boat, hoping to spot a whale or two. There was a high possibility that we would not be fortunate enough to view one of these creatures, but we kept our spirits high as the boat departed the harbor and cruised along the open ocean.

As our boat sped away from the mountains of Acadia National Park, we got closer and closer to the waters where the whales lived. Soon, the only thing we could see was the cobalt waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

A few minutes passed by while we floated aimlessly while our captains communicated with other boats, searching for the whales. Finally, another boat contacted us: they had spotted a whale! Our boat turned around and everyone crowded to the left side of the boat. Everything seemed to go quiet for just a second, as everyone was anticipating whether we would receive what we had paid for: a whale sighting.

Suddenly, a dark blue tail flew out of the water. Everyone gasped, and I could not believe that a whale, one of the biggest creatures on Earth, was so close to me.

Minutes later, another whale appeared, this one with white patterns on its tail. We stayed in the same spot for almost three hours, completely mesmerized by the whales. The most special part of this journey was watching one of the whales jump out of the water, which was astonishingly rare, according to the captains of the boat.

     After spotting the whales, we got to touch the baleen of a humpback whale; which is a filtering system that is inside the whale's mouth. It was smooth on one side, and had large bristles on the other side. It was really cool!

After nearly four hours on the water, it was time to sail back to the shore. Knowing we would never forgot what we had seen, we said goodbye to the whales and returned to the harbor.