I spent one holiday week in Sri Lanka. As you probably already know, I ♥ whales. I did know that there is a possibility to go for a whale watching tour but because of the limited time I had I didn't think to go this time. The safaris were on the other side of the island - too far for me. I also thought they might have Sperm Whales - they are so seen...

Instead, I did a two-days tour to Kandy. There I heard that there is one whale safari place quite close and there are BLUE WHALES! I had only two days left and one of them was the independence day of Sri Lanka. Our tour guide managed to arrange the safari for me and two other Finns.




At 5 am we started the drive from the hotel to Mirissa. Two hours later we arrived to the harbour and went straight to the boat after writing names and passport numbers in a check-in book. The whale centre was very small and modest and the whole trip had kinda amateurish style especially when compared to those great safaris they arrange in Norway!

The whale centre





The harbour



A fishing boat



More fishing boats in the harbour





The cruise lasted about five hours. The boat was tiny and light, although the waves were not so high the boat floated like a cork... I saw many seasick people - poor sailors! After one hour cruise we saw some dolphins (Spinner Dolphins). Dolphins were really fast and swimming quite far, I didn't get any good photos of them.

After two hours we arrived to the area where Blue Whales hang around! We saw maybe 3-5 whales about 15 times in one hour. They dived close to the surface, took some air and dived again. They seemed somewhat shy and we didn't get too close but thanks to my photo gears, I got some decent shots. I also shot some video clips.

They are so awesome majestic creatures! I was so lucky and happy to see them :)













Here's a short movie from the safari...



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