I wish I could claim that this is one of our photos of beluga whales.http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/zone/underwater_sous-marin/beluga/beluga_e.htm We saw belugas twice during our vacation, including a wonderful encounter while camping on the north shore of the Saguenay Fjord in Quebec. Ruth did manage to get some pictures but neither of us is a wildlife photographer.
For some reason a pod of belugas spends the summer at a spot called Baie Marguerite, about 30 kilometres inland from the St. Lawrence. People come in large numbers to this provincial park to see them. The day we arrived we dutifully walked the 3 kilometre trail to the observation deck where a hundred or more were gathered to watch for the belugas. A park naturalist was there at the appointed hour and I'm not sure what we all expected. Maybe we figured that she would shake a bowl of whale chow and they would come a swimmin". No belugas. Everyone went away disappointed.
The next morning we walked out by ourselves just for the solitude and the view. We were the only people there except for another naturalist with a spotting scope. There were at least two dozen belugas! We realized that the tide was running out and that a point of sand was being exposed immediately adjacent to where the whales were swimming. We made our way out onto this spit and actually walked and trotted alongside the belugas which were perhaps 40 metres from us. We could see the unique shapes of their heads and make out the much darker young ones close beside their parents. It was probably 45 minutes before other humans began to arrive, so for a few magical moments we enjoyed "walking with whales" all to ourselves.
I am aware of the marvellous gifts of the Creator in moments such as this. It reminded me of the importance of spending time out of doors as often as possible in order to be connected with the God who brings all things into being. I'm always interested to hear of your creation and Creator encounters.
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