Whale Watch in Provincetown – a dream come true
Visiting Cape Cod in July 2012 I had to take a whale watch tour that departs from Provincetown. It is the number one tour in Cape Cod and no wonder why. Dolphin Fleet Whale Watch offers up to 12 daily eco-tours and it was New England’s first whale watch.
When I was in Peninsula Valdes back in early February 2012, unfortunately Southern right whales were not visiting Patagonia at that time. So then when I found out I could go whale watch while in Cape Cod, I was more than happy! It was always one of my dreams as whales and dolphins are so sweet to me! And this dream came true in Provincetown. It was definitely one of the benefits of visiting USA for me.
I took the 9 am tour that departs from MacMillan Wharf in Provincetown which is a harbor town at the tip of Cape Cod. During our 3,5-hour tour we learned a lot of interesting information about whales.
We should know already that whales are mammals with nostrils (blowholes) on top of the head so they breathe air. Their body temperature is between 90 to 100 °F (approx. 32 to 37 °C ) and they breast feed like all the other mammals.
Usually mammals have pure hair that protects the skin and keeps them warm. Whales have fat to keep them warm. In winter months they can live up to 4 – 5 months from the fat in the Southern hemisphare. Then for the summer they come back to Cape Cod which is like a huge restaurant for them. There they eat as much as they can – plankton and small fish. Whales can eat 1 ton of food per day (equivalent to 8,000 McDonalds’ cheesegurgers)!!!
There are two groups of whales: those with teeth and those with no teeth but baleen. Whales with teeth are for example orcas and dolphins and all their teeth are of the same size and shape and situated only in the lower jaw with holes in the upper jaw. Whales with no teeth but using baleen hair to get rid of the salt water and just swallow the food are for instance finback, minke or humpback whales.
We saw a few humpback whales swimming around us during our tour. I was running from one side of the boat to another to take some photos and videos. It was like in seven heaven for me!
I talked to our professional whale guide, Mike Bertoldi, and he said that the humpback whales he was able to identify on our whalewatch were Eruption (the 1997 calf of Dusky), Milkweed (the 2000 calf of Midnight), Ventisca (a female we have been watching since 2001), and Draco (the 1998 calf of Trident). Mike also stated that the natural markings on their bodies that they identify them from are the dorsal fin and the underside of the tail because every whale has them a bit different.
Check out the whale watch video I took:
If you are interested in more interesting tours in Cape Cod, I can recommend you to try the dune tour around Cape Cod National Park Seashore :)
For more information about Dolphin Fleet Whale Watch, please visit Whale Watch website to get discounted tickets online, or call them to (800) 826-9300 (Toll Free in US and Canada) or from all other countries to (508) 240-3636. To find out more about Cape Cod tourism, please visit Cape Cod Chamber website. My whale watch trip was a press trip. Thanks to both of them I was able to take my unforgettable whale watch tour. All the thoughts in this article are my own.
Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Comment@ Traveling Ted:
I hope it comes true for you too as I almost cried when I saw the whales :)
Traveling Ted
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Very cool photos. I have never seen a whale so this is a dream for me as well.