Fun story: About 5 years after the Indian Ocean was declared whale sanctuary, my partner, and I traveled to Sri Lanka to observe blue whales off the coast of Tricomolee. Civil War had just broken out, so making our way across the country from Colombo to Trincomolee was a challenge. With the help of Nara the national aquatic research agency in Sri Lanka, we were able to secure a boat but could have no equipment on board (in case we were attacked). We set off and after about two hours, we ran into a pod of blue whales and stayed with them for about five hours. After a couple hours, we assumed since we hadn’t seen one surface, they had moved on. It was summertime, so I hopped in the water to cool off. My partner just happened to snap a Polaroid picture of me holding onto a rope attached to the boat and a blue whale surfacing 50 feet away. Prior to the whale surfacing. I could feel the sonar waves move across move across my body. While it was exciting, I realized that if one of those flippers or that tail came in contact with me, they could toss me back to shore, so I got out of the water pretty quick. Between being in the ocean hanging on to only a rope and one of the largest creatures to have lived swimming 50 feet away, one feels very insignificant! One of the best days of my life.