Lesson learned: Just because Orca whale sightings had been made EVERY DAY leading up to my late August daytrip to the San Juan Islands doesn’t mean that the black and white striped beauties will be there when I actually arrive. 

But that’s kinda the way our luck had been going. My college buddy (and frequent travel companion) Blair had been in Seattle for the past week, mostly sleeping and running as she continued her training for the Chicago Marathon. While we had walked all over Seattle, I had enjoyed the Victoria daytrip run by the Victoria Clipper company so much that I signed us up for the company’s San Juan trip. 

I wasn’t counting on the Zig Zag Cafe effect. We had started our Friday afternoon happy hour when doors opened at 5 p.m. and continued downing classic cocktails for quite a while. So the wakeup call for the 7:30 a.m. ferry to Friday Harbor felt early indeed. 

It didn’t help that the ferry was packed to the gills with fellow daytrippers, most of whom were much more enthusiastic (read, loud) than we were.Unlike my positive experience on the Victoria Clipper’s hydrofoil, I found the Friday Harbor ferry much less pleasant. The seats weren’t laid out as well and the cabins felt cramped. Worse, an odor that smelled vaguely of cat piss lingered around the lower deck. As we’d be spending most of the day on this ship between the trip up there and the whale watching itself, I wasn’t too pleased. 

The air felt better on the top deck. But due to circumstances within my control that I whiffed, I only had my iPhone with me as a camera – and I was edged out by photographers with some serious cameras. I don’t think I’ve seen travel writers with equipment as tricked out as some of these tourists, some of whom had the competitive me-first attitude of a press scrum. Look, just because you have the biggest lens doesn’t mean that you can push everyone else around. Just sayin.’ 

Our trip gave us a chance to experience several of the Pacific Northwest;s famed microclimates. While we had clear skies out of Seattle, we moved into some serious cloud cover as we hit Whidbey Island. As we passed through the narrow strait known as Deception Pass, it felt like we were moving through a swirling dreamscape. 

Things cleared up again once we cleared Whidbey Island and moved toward the San Juans, many of which fall under a rain shadow. By this time, we were used to the crowded boat and even made friends with a couple who generously allowed us to sit by the window. We enjoyed watching the scenery go by and even saw a few seals and sea lions. 

The ferry docked in Friday Harbor and a few people departed with suitcases. Along with most of the passengers, we had signed on for the Victoria Clipper’s two hour whale and wildlife search. I realized our mistake when I saw all the smaller operators with their boats in the Friday Harbor marina. We probably could gotten a more personal (albeit expensive) boating experience with a smaller operator. Oh well. Live and learn. 

It’s all about Orcas up in the San Juans, primarily because three  ”pods” of whales make their home there. The killer whales have been on the endangered species list since 2005, and face threats from pollution, declining numbers of chinook salmon, and safety concerns from boat traffic (this Seattle Times article that ran last week points out that boat regulations and fines for getting too close to the whales will become stiffer in 2011). Despite their threatened status, the whales are a regular fixture in the San Juans from May through September. When I asked Victoria Clipper about their recent whale spotting activity, they told me that the pods had been within viewing distance every day during the previous week. 

No such luck when we were there. The Clipper whale watch tour does have a biologist on board and she explained that the whales do occasionally leave the immediate vicinity in search of food. Perhaps sensing a mutiny from disappointed customer, our captain told us that a gray whale had been spotted  closer to Victoria so we hightailed it to the northern edge of the San Juans. Apparently the pilots of whale watching trips crowdsource their sightings, so when one person puts out the call, boats from all over swarm to the area to find the sea mammals. While I joined everyone else on deck scanning the horizon for our lone whale, I felt a little sheepish. Is chasing down a whale really an appropriate way to get closer to nature? I don’t think so. I felt sorry for the whale and am glad that the regulations guarding them are becoming more strict (for more on what people are doing to help whales, check out the Be Whale Wise website). 

After our brief whale spotting, the captain took us by some of the smaller San Juan islands. Many were uninhabited, save for a few camps and cabins that were only accessible by seaplane or small boat. At this point, we were beyond caring about the whales and were more focused on the stunning scenery. The San Juan islands are one of the few places where you can see forest, mountains, islands and water, all in a single landscape. It’s truly one of the more beautiful regions that I’ve visited recently and I feel lucky that I can go back and explore at my leisure so easily. 

Back on land, we had about two hours to walk around Friday Harbor, the largest town in the San Juan island chain. It’s the type of place where people who have been going for years probably say is now overcrowded and too touristy. But for us, it seemed quiet and pleasant. We walked up and down the town’s main street, checking out the Orca-themed cards, T-shirts and artwork in the shop windows. I found a few things worth buying at Island Studios, a gallery that stocks handmade lamps from artist Clark Warren. I bought this camera-themed one for my husband’s birthday and also picked up an interesting mobile made from silver spoons. 

We picked one of the restaurants with a view of the marina for a late lunch, Haley’s Bait Shop & Grill, where we experienced perhaps the worst service that I’ve had in a long time. It took us 20 minutes to get service and our waiter only arrived because we were about ready to get up and leave. Then when our food finally arrived, he gave us the bill as we were eating. Now I don’t mind being acccomodating when a waiter needs to close out his bill, but at least give us the option to get another drink or tell us who our new waiter will be. Unacceptable. The food itself was fairly standard. I ordered fried California rolls, if only to see what they looked like. While I prefer the non-fried version, these were pretty tasty. 

The trip back took about two and a half hours. We dozed and watched the islands go by on the mid-level deck. 

All in all, the San Juan daytrip put on by Victoria Clipper wasn’t horrible. We enjoyed the scenery and the time on the water for $120. 

But the San Juans are a place that takes far more than a day to explore. When I go next time, I’ll plan to spend at least one night or more in Friday Harbor, book a whale watching tour with a smaller operator that feels less like a cattle car, and take time to rent a bicycle and explore the islands more. Maybe I’ll even rent a cabin where we can grill our own fish instead of paying tourist prices at the Friday Harbor restaurants and take a seaplane up so we don’t waste time in lengthy ferry lines (roundtrip from Seattle to Friday Harbor is about $218).