A few cool things about whales to wet your appetite to go whale watching.1. The muscle on the whale that lifts their tail fin is the strongest muscle on the face of this planet. I like that one. Thanks go to Grandma J. for that tidbit.
2. There is nothing that makes you go 'Oooooooo' or 'Ahhhhhhh' more quickly than seeing a whale that weighs hundreds of tons shoot out of the water vertically only to come crashing back down into the water with an extremely large splash. I have no clue what they are doing, but it looks really cool.
3. A close second to #2 is seeing a tail fin come out of the water and point upright as the whale dives back into the ocean. Not as dramatic as the splash when they jump, but still an unbelievable sight.
4. It is illegal for boats to get any closer than 100 yards from a whale. This is done to make sure that a whale doesn't surface under a boat and injure itself or the people on the boat.
5. Neatest thing you'll ever do is go snorkeling in an area where whales are located. You'll probably never see a whale while snorkeling. Snorkeling is done in waters that are generally too shallow for whales. But, if you put your head underwater and float completely still to avoid extra noise, you will be able to hear whales communicating with one another. In Maui, during whale season, that communication sounds like a 100-piece orchestra of squeaky doors. It's one of those things that you have to do, just to experience it. After putting your head below the water and hearing all the whales, you realize just how many whales are in the water around the island.
