The Great Escape from Grand Manan

Julie and I woke the next morning at a very chilly, ungodly hour. We bundled into as many layers as we could, and emerged from the van, pleased to find that the gas smell had dissipated. We rushed over to a dock that looked rather busy, and found our whale watching tour. The boat was somewhat small, but fit about 15 passengers all eager to see some whales in their natural habitat. I was extremely excited myself. There have been very few things on this trip that I have insisted on doing, but whale watching was certainly one of them!

The captain of the boat did a mini safety demonstration before informing us that if we didn’t see any whales today, he wouldn’t charge us for the trip out. “Oh and there’s a free first coffee, tea, or hot chocolate for anyone who wants one. Seconds are a dollar each,” he added before assuming his spot and setting out for the open ocean. Content with the trip so far, Julie and I took the time to get comfortable, grab a hot chocolate, and relax as the Atlantic slipped by.

About an hour in, the captain’s first mate announced that we were in prime whale watching territory. Suddenly, a great spout of frothy water launched into the air. It came from quite a ways away, but all the passengers, myself included, leapt to the railing of the boat to catch a better glimpse of the elusive whale. We saw a few more spouts off in the distance, and the captain directed his boat in chase, hoping to get us even closer.

Example of a Finback whale. We saw a lot of these guys.

We whale watched for a good three hours and saw several different members from a pod of finback whales, as well as a handful, at the very end of the trip, of humpbacks, my favourite kind of whale. It was a wonderful trip, and while I didn’t take any photos, I will remember the awe I felt just watching such large, powerful creatures slipping in and out of the waves.

Example of what we saw of the humpback whales.

Back on shore, Julie and I returned to the van feeling quite hungry. We decided to drive down to a little provincial park we’d seen the night before and have ourselves a picnic. We set ourselves up at a picnic table right by the ocean. This time it glittered with the warmth of the sun instead of the cold of the moon’s silvery light. Everything in Grand Manan looked so much more cheery and safe in the daylight than it did the night before!

We ate salad for lunch and when we were finished, Julie suggested we stay and relax for a little while. So we unpacked our camping chairs, pulled out our books and our sunscreen, and read for the next three hours. At some point, I decided to get up and do the dishes, and I packed them all away in the van. Then I asked Julie, “What time did that man who followed us last night say the ferry left?” “Three o’clock.” “What time is it now…” “Twenty to three.” We looked at each other. A silent decision to hastily pack up and race for the ferry crossed between us, and then we were both bolting into the van, buckling our belts, starting up the beast, and powering down the dirt road to the highway as quickly as the speed limit would allow. Once on the highway, we were rolling at 80km/hour, but the fast-stretch didn’t last for long, falling into 50km/hour zones frequently. Julie and I both knew it was only 1/2 hour from one end of the island to the other, but we were not sure whether we would catch the ferry or not, and we were not willing to get a speeding ticket in order to do so.

Eventually I could see the ferry. It was docked, but I was sure it was preparing to pull away. We arrived at the gate, our adrenalin causing us to be a bit out of breath and fidgety. The lady at the gate was very pleasant with us. “Hi there, how can I help you?” “We’d like to get a ticket for the ferry please,” Julie answered. “Which ferry?” asked the woman. “Uhhh, preferably the 3pm ferry.” The woman looked at us, almost in disbelief. She glanced quickly at her watch and radioed the ferrymen. “Hi boys, do you have the doors shut yet, over?” she asked. “Not yet, over,” came the response. The woman shot us a sly smile. “Do you have room for one more vehicle, over?” “Yeah sure, send it in, over.” Julie and I glanced at each other. I fist pumped a little. I know, but it was just such an exhilarating moment.

“You girls are so lucky,” commented the woman as she rang through our ferry toll. “They usually have the doors closed already and are off at precisely 3:30pm.” “What time did we get here?” We asked her. “Three twenty nine exactly.” It was fate.

Elated by our successful dash for the ferry, Julie and I rewarded ourselves with some tea and a cup full of coffee-flavoured ice cream. Then we started reading our books when who should come and sit down with us, but the man from the truck the night before!

As I said earlier, the daylight changes everything, and it was the same case for this gentleman, whom we learned was nicknamed Beaver, after the character on the old show Leave it to Beaver. While I’d been terrified the night before that he’d possibly been a crazy psycho killer out to kidnap and murder us, my opinion 180’ed and I found that Beaver was actually a really kind, friendly, and interesting person. The three of us had a very nice chat about the whale watching among other things, and then he was off to attend to his duties since he worked on the ferry. I told Julie almost immediately what a nice guy I thought he was. I was a little ashamed I’d even thought he could be a serial killer. But I couldn’t help it the night before. I’m a bit of a freak of nature that way; I always think that I’m going to encounter an evil murderer and meet my doom.

Before the end of the ferry ride, Beaver joined us again, and we had another lovely chat. Julie and I both left the ferry, and Grand Manan Island, very pleased with the entire day, and most especially with the friendly and generous people we’d met.

-Nicole