They breached for us: throwing their massive bodies out of the water and tumbling back in with a volcanic splash.  They slapped the water with their tail flukes, creating a mighty froth all about them.  The rolled over on their bellies and flapped their pectoral fins.  They bobbed their heads out, turning in circles.  They nuzzled each other and played together.  It was only by watching them through binoculars that I gained a true appreciation of their size.  They were huge, 18 metres long and weighing 80 tonnes.  Yet, they moved through the water with effortless grace.  We spent six hours watching them, and were not bored for one second of that time. 

Copyright Linda Lee Rathbun / Natural Wanders