Cape Cod - Provincetown

Aaron had a bit of a hard time getting out of bed in the morning, so we didn't leave the hotel until around 11:30 am and could make our way to the northern tip of Cape Cod. The destination was Provincetown. The drive from our hotel took about an hour. We already had a lot of traffic on the way, as the highway that crosses Cape Cod also leads to countless beaches. Cape Cod is not only surrounded by water, we also passed countless lakes. Shortly before Provincetown, we crossed a beautiful dune landscape. When we finally entered Provincetown, we were almost shocked: First, you drive through a small, picturesque harbor town, and suddenly you end up in an ant hill! Narrow streets filled with cars, with people walking, biking, skateboarding, and rollerblading between them.

At a small intersection, traffic control personnel were even used to manage the chaos. Not that anyone would follow what the police officers were waving and directing. Only me and my loyal German soul, of course, stopped when 'Stop' was shown in our direction. But only until I was suddenly overtaken by the driver behind me, because he didn't care at all about what the crossing guard was indicating. And what can Germans do better than follow rules? Exactly, put line jumpers back in their place! So I hit the gas and our Toyota, with its nearly six liters of engine capacity, pushed forward like a solid rocket pushes the space shuttle. That apparently impressed the line jumper so much that he obediently got back behind us without a fuss. It might also have been my hate-filled gaze and the foam at my mouth...

Shortly afterwards, the second shock: Parking at the harbor costs $20! So we took a little tour through the town and looked for and found another parking lot. Then we walked through the town to the harbor because we wanted to take another whale-watching tour. On the way there, we encountered more lesbians and gays than at the Christopher Street Day in Cologne. Provincetown is one of the places in the USA where homosexuals don't have to fear being shot dead by crazy Trump supporters if they openly show themselves on the street. On one side, drag queens handed out vouchers for their shows, and on the other side, ladies distributed advertisements for the performance of a lesbian comedian.

The place is somehow quirky, overcrowded, but still totally laid-back. We quickly bought tickets, had a snack, and went to the ship. We were in the front of the line during boarding and were able to grab the front seats on the foredeck. It began in brilliant blue skies and calm seas.

And this tour was even more breathtaking than the first. Whales appeared all around us. At times, four humpback whales were swimming alongside us. Even a fin whale, the second largest creature in the world after Rainer Calmund, showed itself.

After three hours and 350 photos, we headed back to the harbor and back to the hotel. Aaron then jumped into the pool world again, chatted up a couple of girls, and the day was over. Tomorrow we'll have a day at the beach...