to take them out and go look at whales!
Soon, TripAdvisor recognized us as
the top whale watch business in the
area. I was no longer Mr. Maya, public
school teacher. I had morphed into
Captain Jim.
Though there is a great variety of
wildlife in the area, the chief attraction
is the large number of wild Killer
Whales, or Orcas. The West Side of
San Juan Island is the number one place
in the world for wild Orca sightings
from land. The largest of the dolphin
family, Orcas are an apex predator;
extremely intelligent, family oriented
and matriarchal in nature. I think they
are the most fascinating creatures on the
face of the Earth. People from literally
all over the world come to the San Juan
Islands to view these amazing animals.
Now, 20 years later, I’m still Captain
Jim. And because of my love of wildlife
and whales in particular, I’m now also a
professional wildlife photographer. We
sell my images at galleries and on-line,
using my full name, James Mead Maya,
(my Facebook handle), and Maya’s
Images, mayasimages.com.
Though we sold our business two
years ago, I still captain for the new
owner, Maya’s Legacy Whale Watch.
I have no plans to ever retire. What’s
the old phrase? “Doing what you love
is happiness, and loving what you do is
freedom.” I still find it hard to