I thought that showing via video is much more simple than explaining, so here are some videos for you. This post is going to be all about the whale watching, since that's what usually kickstarts my day. Next time I'll share about the daily hurdles of the office life. But I'll give you a sneak peak, it is in the title.
In the previous post I mentioned the tasks in a nutshell, so allow me to ellaborate. The day starts at 8 am. Me and the others who are boarding head to the boat that is leaving. Or boats, depending on the amount of customers. We make sure that the boat is good to go and everything is in order. Around 15 minutes before leaving the boarding begins. We check the tickets and let the passengers on board. When everyone is onboard safely and there are no obstacles the journey begins.
Searching for whales happens using our senses. There are no sonars or other equipment to aide the search. The whales can be seen, heard or smelled. Whales breath is absolutely foul so if the whale is close enough you'll smell it. You can hear whales when they blow water from their blowholes or if they jump high enough to make a splash. Some baleen whales, such as the humpback whale, sing so that is also an indicator that a whale is close. The last and the most obvious one is seeing them. As you saw from the game, it is not always simple. The whale can get lost in the waves. That's why most of our guides like to joke that the customers aren't here for whale watching but whale waiting. Searching for them requires patience. Unfortunately even patience isn't enough every time and the trip ends without seeing a single whale. When that happens the customers are given a complimentary voucher for another tour that is viable for two years.
After the tour it is time to clean the boat. The overalls are put back or taken to the office to dry if it has been raining. Floors are cleaned, tables wiped and toilets scrubbed. The coffee machine is filled and cleaned. Then depending on whether I'll be going on another tour or going back to the office it is either a quick lunch and back to the boat or a less hectic lunch and office work.
So as I said, the next time I'll focus on the office things. See you then!
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