The agony of choice..

The last day has dawned and should bring us another highlight: a whale-watching tour.

But which one? Two years ago we had great experiences with a tour in Provincetown, but it's over an hour's drive to "P-Town". And a ship from Yarmouth? There are no tips or hints, neither positive nor negative, to be found anywhere on the internet.

Hyannis/Barnstable is also still an option, one company promises a 99% probability of seeing whales.

In the end, we decided on Hyannis/Barnstable. According to the internet and brochure, the ship starts at 9:30 am. So we left our warm bed at 7:00 am and drove to the port of Barnstable. Fortunately, we arrived at 8:45 am, because the trip started at 9:00 am already. And the ship was already almost full...

But since most people had secured their seats on the sunny side, we were still able to secure outdoor seats in the shade. Next to us were... Chinese people!

Well, when the ship set sail, it had to turn to leave the harbor, and suddenly we were sitting in the sun.

So we went about 50 minutes at full speed out to sea until we reached the Stellwagen Bank, a nature reserve with high fish and krill density and therefore a main habitat for all kinds of whales.

And it didn't take long before the first humpback whales were swimming around us. In the meantime, we had made our way to the bow of the ship and were in pole position.

Next to us... Germans in Bayern Munich clothes! I was waiting for a good opportunity to give them a push and throw them overboard. But they smelled a rat and clung desperately to the railing.

The tour was fantastic, we saw many different whales that came very close to the boat.

The four hours flew by and we were already back in the harbor. Since there is a nice natural beach near the harbor, we took the opportunity to sniff some beach air.

At five o'clock we headed back towards Chatham. We had dinner again at the 99...

... and we were already back in the vacation rental. Now it was time to pack our suitcases! With sweat and a handheld luggage scale, we somehow managed to not exceed 50 pounds with any of our suitcases. Tomorrow we just have to wear two pants, three shirts, and two jackets...

So, off to bed now!

Tomorrow will be a long day...