It’s rare that something so beautiful has happened in my life
that is stains my mind and circles around endlessly in the best
way imaginable.
This afternoon I went down to James Bay to meet up with a friend
who I hadn’t seen for a while to walk to Breakwater / Ogden
Point, a cement pathway that extends out into the Salish Sea and
has an old lighthouse at the end of it. I ended up being a bit
late as I got in a conversation with the man working at Arcadia
Shoe Repair, in a scene that reminded me of being back in China,
as I interrupted him and his wife while they were eating lunch
and then he joyfully bantered with me about the book I was
reading (Trainspotting), which he had never heard of but found
quite interesting. I told him it was a very intense book and I
would probably cry reading it, already knowing some of the
stories from watching the film. He told me it would be good for
me and that it’s good for the body to feel intense feelings (or
something to that effect). Cool guy.
We were further delayed in our departure, as once I arrived at
my friends place I was checking out all of the plants that were
growing on her balcony; rose geranium, yarrow, raspberry, lemon
verbena, nettle and more - and then finally we headed down to
the water.
Gathered around in clusters were an unusually high volume of
jellyfish, and we watched them pulsing and warbling just under
the surface of the water. One of them was gigantic and looked
like a cracked egg, which we later found out was a ‘lions mane’
jellyfish. A reminder that we are in the midst of an apocalypse.
The whole shoreline around the Ogden Point is a strange
juxtaposition of beauty and wasteland, with a sprawl of cemented
in shoreline that welcomes giant gaudy cruise ships, a helijet
terminal, and a sandy beach front with ancient weathered tree
carcasses and wild rose bushes. There’s a restaurant and an ice
cream parlour, and they're both great.
On the footpath near the sea plane terminal are two gravestones
that one might not even notice, as they're flat, nondescript,
and embedded into the soil. They're Songhees ancestor's graves
that were exhumed during the industrialization of the area. The
lack of honouring is haunting.
It both disturbs my soul and overcomes me with awe and beauty to
visit the Breakwater.
**
Minutes after heading out to the lighthouse a couple came up to
us and told us that there were orca whales on their way over
from Ross Bay. We kept a lookout but didn’t see anything, and
then suddenly there were two orcas right beside us. It was so
cool and I got some footage of one of them coming out of the
water right in front of me! I really couldn't believe it; it was
only the second time I'd seen orcas out of captivity (the other
time was on the ferry about 15 years ago).
But it didn’t stop there: then 3 more whales appeared out of the
water and two of them rolled onto their backs exposing their
bellies and splashing water in unison in an artful display. Then
all five of them were sliding along the walkway right underneath
us. The sounds of the water spraying out from their spouts
filled up the air and I could see their dorsal twins wavering as
they sprawled along. I ran alongside them and watched until they
came around the corner where the lighthouse is, and then they
headed out towards Esquimalt.
I busted out my tea flask and my friend and I sat on a bench
marveling over the incredible sight we had just saw, and many
others also lingered on for a long time after the whales took
off.
About 20 minutes later, we noticed boats gathering around an
area near the helijet terminal so we watched for the orcas
again. I jokingly said, “Come hither you majestic creatures”,
and a few minutes later they all reappeared and were making
their way along the cement shoreline. AND THEN: they came right
towards us! Their bodies looked translucent and shimmery under
the surface of the water and then they came up to the surface
and went alongside the breakwater again. I ran down to the lower
walkway that’s right next to the water and followed alongside
them. A young girl above me, screamed down to me “There’s whales
out there!”. Her mom was like, “She knows.”
They headed back out the way they came and I watched them coming
up for air periodically. When I headed back up the main walkway
again my friend and I watched them put an another huge display
jumping out of the water and splashing around for about 5
minutes. Someone said they might be hunting seals.
It was ridiculously beautiful and magickal and has been swirling
around in my mind for hours and hours.
But then I was filled with a big sadness as I recognized how few
whales are left and I remembered a really upsetting story about
an orca whale dragging her dead calf around with her :(