Whale Watching

One thing I had planned for my year in Canada was to go on a Whale Watching tour.
From Kati, a friend I met at the hostel in Halifax who regularly sends me updates of her trip through Canada, I got the tip that tours to Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park start from Quebec. This area is one of Canada's three marine national parks. Due to the mixing of fresh and salt water, there is plenty of food for the whales in this national park, making it one of the best whale watching areas in Canada.
Since the marine park is located outside Quebec City, the tour is a day trip and starts with a three and a half hour bus ride. Kati also advised me to do the tour on the weekend, as Alan would then be the bus driver. Her second good tip. Alan made the tour a entertaining and very informative ride with funny jokes, anecdotes, and lots of humor.

In Baie-Sainte-Catherine, we then switched from the bus to the boat and off we went on a three-hour tour out on the Saint Lawrence River. We hadn't been on the water for long when the first 'I see something' screams started, and it continued like that. With cameras, phones, and iPads at the ready, everyone darted from one side of the boat to the other, depending on where the whales appeared. Often, there were animals to see on both sides at the same time. We saw white beluga whales, lots of fin whales, and maybe some others (they are hard to differentiate in the water, and the explanations from the tour guide were very difficult to understand). However, blue whales were unfortunately not among them.
For almost two hours, the animals appeared all around us, and the seals also paid us a few visits. With the best weather, it was a really great experience that I can recommend to everyone!!!