Fins, Tails and Whales

Demi Hewamanna

The ocean, a friend to the man who lives on the livelihood of its produce, a place of adventure to treasure seekers, an archeological site for the man who hungers mysteries, a place of fear for the ones who have lost loved ones to the destruction caused by its natural angers of tsunami and floods. And to me, well it was a place of sheer excitement as it was my very first sea adventure to get a glimpse of the ocean's largest mammal - whales!

Yes, whales and all thanks to the team of John Keells Hotels and the staff at the Chaaya Blu resort in Trincomalee, I got the chance to see eight of them. We were told by the host that they have scheduled for us to go to sea soon after breakfast and if the first day we are unlucky in the sighting that they would set it up again the next day as well.

The journey began way before the cockerel had time get up and begin his work. And after what seemed a very short trip (since I was asleep half the ride), we reached Trincomalee (my very first time to the East) and headed to our resort. From the plain white and the spacious lobby with colours of blue to resemble the sky/ocean and orange to add in the flavor in the area we figured it was another Channa Daswatte creation. The resort was formerly designed to resemble a sailing vessel in the 70s and it was recreated and launched on May 15, 2010 giving it a very fresh, modern chic design.

Beach chalets, rooms & suites

Speaking to the Assistant Manager Suresh Athukorala who we met in the evening, said that there are 81 rooms (36 beach chalets and 43 superior, two suites) with the beach chalets giving a much spacious area than the Standard rooms. The rooms are all equipped with the modern facilities, cable TV, Tea/Coffee maker and of course a very big bathroom made of cement and rain shower glass door area that is completely roofless (ideal for the hopeless romantics to enjoy a night under the stars).

"We are focusing on selling the sea, sand and garden to the guests who plan to just come and chill out and then there is of course the whale watching and dolphins. Guests can also do other activities such as snorkeling, check out the corals, the marine life, sharks and turtles at the pigeon Island which is 20 minutes away from resort", Suresh went on to say.

For the people who just want to lie on the beach with a book, get a tan, take a dip into the clear ocean or in the pool can do so with a chilled drink from the poolside bar or from their seafood restaurant The Crab. Dining in the night on the beach itself with some of the favourite delicacies from The Crab is something I truly recommend for anyone to try out. The sound of the ocean and gentle music coming from inside the Captain's Deck is one place you would want to just sit down and throw your worries away.

And with three action stations for Western food, carvery, seafood, Italian and Indian for breakfast, lunch and dinner at the main restaurant Captains Deck - I'm sure one would not worry about satisfying their appetite.

When we arrived at the hotel, we were greeted warmly by the friendly staff and after refreshing water melon juice and a cold towel, we were then escorted to the Captain's Deck for breakfast. We were also introduced to Daya Rutnam, the lovely gentleman and of course our very own guide to the whale expedition. Soon after, we headed to the rooms to have a quick change of shoes, clothes, shades and run off to the beach where Daya and one of the four boats that belong to Chaaya Blu waited for us.

The very first thing given to us was the life jacket and then another very important thing to protect our skin - Sunscreen. With that and a little bit of pushing the boat to the sea, we were finally inside the boat and began the adventure. Before we left to sea, the boat made its way towards the Kovil that is a short distance from the hotel, where Daya prayed for a safe journey and then ran the motor and speeded up the boat.

Dolphin adventure

I kept looking back and saw the land we were leaving slowly fading away and I realized then, this was the furthest I have ever travelled to in the sea. We passed many speed boats and fishing boats with fisher-folk who told us that there were no sighting of whales but they did see some dolphins playing about. I who missed out on a dolphin adventure last year was too excited when I heard that we might see some dolphins - even though as a strict rule we were not allowed to swim with them or get into the water.

After a few miles, we spotted few playful dolphins jumping up and down and trying to race with the boat. Even though our boat guy was speaking in Tamil and from what I understood, he said that the dolphins somehow like this boat and love to follow it for the way it travels in the water.

Somehow we were not that lucky enough to see any whales that day and then we made our 30km journey back to the resort. After a three hour stay in the sea and with fresh sea water gushing and slapping itself on our faces, we got back ashore with a straight nose dive on the sand. We walked straight out of the burning sand to wash our feet at the taps that are fixed at every entrance to a chalet and made ourselves to the buffet area as we were famished.

As we had a few hours to chill out before meeting with Suresh and the team, we parted ways to our rooms and I hit the shower and had a siesta.

Evening came and we met up with Suresh and Nature Trails Head of Eco Tourism Chitral Jayatileke for a chit chat on the property and whales. Chitral added that November to March is the best sighting for whales but this year it has totally changed because of the weather pattern. As there is a rapid change in the currents and weather sometimes the whales do not make their journey this way. He also added that they compare Mirissa to Trinco for whale watching just as they compare Yala to Wilpattu for leopards. There it is crowded with around 25 boats clamoring to get near and some are even chasing the whales in Mirissa whereas here it is like a private whale watching garden with 20/25 whales in the right season and three to four boats in the sea taking a good look at them. At some lucky times, guests have had the opportunity of seen these giant mammals from the beach itself as they come up every fifteen minutes or so to breathe.

With a promise of a whale sighting tomorrow, we headed towards the beach to see how the water is and wow, I must say after Passikudah, Unawatuna and Talalla, this was my second favourite beach in the country.

After that, we all changed and went for a small ride to the town that was all lit up for a church feast. When we returned, we were invited to the beach where a cozy table was set up for us with two amazing bonfires at the back and a selection of fresh seafood and meat waited for us to put on the grill and munch on.

It truly was a hearty meal and as we had a early and long journey back to the sea the next day, we called it a night and went to grab some big winks.

Nature Trails Naturalist Daya had planned some snorkeling and marine life adventure for us at the Pigeon Island while we waited for the radio call from Chitral and the other team out at sea whale watching. We all met up once again at the beach and then after the jackets and the sunscreen made our way to Pigeon Island. As the island is home for 90 odd pigeons as well as to safeguard the corals, pigeons and the island itself, the Wildlife and Environment Authority does not allow people to go to the island without buying tickets.

There were a few boats docked ashore of the island when we went there...and we could see little heads bobbling up and down in the water. We walked on to the other side of the island and began putting our goggles and snorkels and began snooping around the marine life and checking out how the fish lived their life. I must say, that the fish truly have a colourful home and so much space to move around and are not at all threatened by their neighbor unless it is a bigger fishy than them.

Swimming with the fish

After sometime checking out the fish, we headed on to other side to check out the corals and more fish. Daya warned us that as the sea is very shallow in this end, we have to swim straight and not at any given period try to stand on any coral, as we might hurt them and also get scratched ourselves as they are very sharp and slippery. My friend who was guided by Daya got to see some sharks and was super excited that as soon as she got back ashore she began to put up the status on Facebook :).

We made our back to the resort as there was still no radio call from the other team about the whales, disheartening us very much. We got ashore, thanked Daya and decided to head back to the rooms, shower, pack have lunch and make our back to Colombo. But just as I got out of the shower, the phone rings...whales sighted...do you want to go...yes or no. Of course it was a yes, and my other friend and I, who had no time to dry the hair, just went off to the beach again and with the guidance of Daya's GPRS headed to the location of the whales. You can just imagine how my heart was beating to hear that they have sighted 8 whales. The boat sped fast as possible to catch up with Chitral and his team, who said that there are 8 Sperm Whales just a few kilometers away.

And he was right...as we saw what seemed like submarines coming out to let out some air and then dive back slowly. I began counting - three in front and five at the back. With the cameras on the ready, I didn't want to miss anything and began just snapping away what I could see. Finally, the whole purpose of our journey was fulfilled and we could go back with a relaxed mind and of course many memories to cherish from our stay at the Blu and sighting of whales.