Our return visit to Churchill began with disappointment. We had traveled to this tiny town in northern Manitoba literally at the edge of civilization for a very special type of whale encounter, but couldn't find any.Five years ago, we had spent three magical days snorkeling with beluga whales in the cold, relatively clear water of nearby Button Bay, and we promised ourselves we'd be back. But this summer in subarctic Canada was different. The whales had been late to arrive, and when they did, they stayed away from their usual spots. After spending our first day unsuccessfully searching the waters of Button Bay, we decided to change strategies and pilot our rubber Zodiac five miles up the Churchill River, where hundreds of belugas normally crowd a wedge of land called Mosquito Point. This is the best-known tourist spot for beluga whale watching.Mother whales bring their babies here because the water is shallow and warm - 60 degrees or more compared to mid-30s in the bay. The whales rest, they rub off old skin, they feed. They do all this in water so thick with silt and tannic acid that you could practically spread it with a trowel.We jumped in anyway, hoping for a miracle. But when you held out an arm your fingertips faded into the murk. The visibility was, what, maybe 15 inches? Whales, whales everywhere and we couldn't see a thing. We spent an hour peering through the murk, then headed back down river.That's when the miracle happened. We were just offshore from the town's grain elevator when we spotted the birds. Hundreds of terns and skuas were wheeling and diving over a patch of wildly riffled water. And whales - dozens of shiny white backs arcing among the waves. It was a feeding frenzy.The visibility was considerably better here than at Mosquito Point. A single large male swam in to check us out. He was belly up, head tipped back, easing in straight toward our stern.Suddenly he was joined by nearly a dozen of his buddies, also on their backs, stacked up in a semicircle like spokes on a wheel and spaced equally as if someone had marked spots for them in the water. The spectacle lasted nearly two minutes, time enough to fire off a half dozen frames of film. Then the bulls broke off and returned to socializing with the others.We quickly zipped up our drysuits and joined them. We clung to the side of the inflatable for half an hour while the whales pirouetted around us.We knew what they were really after - capelin, needle-thin fish about three inches long that formed a curtain in the water. Sometimes the capelin were beside us, sometimes beneath. We could see the whales running through the silvery cloud, scooping up fish with practiced efficiency.Every so often, they'd break off to play. To our right, several whales tumbled, the gray babies braiding themselves around the moms like huge rolling balls of twine. Twice this happened so close that we could see speckling on the pups' gray backs.We were surrounded by whale chatter - chirping that sounded like birds and pinging that sounded like a grade-B World War II submarine movie. We also felt strange vibrations that went right through us. Belugas use this echolocation to pinpoint food and enemies. A day that had started dismally ended with a flourish. Only In ChurchillBelugas, white arctic whales with humps on their heads and quizzical smiles, are extremely intelligent and quite shy. While the odd wild dolphin may sidle up to a diver just out of curiosity, belugas never would. They are much more wary.There is only one place on earth readily accessible to divers that can guarantee a chance to swim with belugas: Churchill, on the far northern edge of Canada's Manitoba province along Hudson Bay.In fall, Churchill is Polar Bear Central. Hundreds of bears wait impatiently for the bay to freeze solid so they can go out and hunt seals. For more than a decade tourists have been crowding into town to venture across the frozen tundra to snare world-class bear photos. Around Halloween, Churchill can feel like Disney World in high season, but the rest of the year the place is nearly deserted. The whales, however, come each summer and a small but growing trickle of visitors come to see them from the dry comfort of a tour boat. Hey, you can also swim with them, tour boat owner Mike Macri told us during our first pass through Churchill. We were in transit and needed to kill three hours. Once we realized how special this opportunity was, three hours became three days.Things have changed in Churchill since our last visit. It's becoming a real tourist destination, with three seasonal activities: bears in fall, whales in summer and the Northern Lights in spring. The town now has a suburb, where stressed-out locals can escape the big city (population 1,200). There's even landscaping. Grass, sort of, and trees artfully arranged with some sense of style out front of various buildings and offices.To realize how improbable this is, understand that Churchill is in the Far North, a place where winter temperatures regularly hit 70 degrees below zero, and even springtime can mean 40 below. It's a place that often looks like outer space because people are bundled in clothing designed for lethal winter conditions. When locals talk about the hardships of the pioneering days, they're usually talking about the last decade. Macri, who owns Sea North Tours, has spent a decade perfecting his whale-watching procedures. Most tourists are content to go out on his large boat, a 40-foot, custom-built vessel that holds up to 32 people. Whales come right up to the boat, allowing folks to photograph what sometimes looks from above like a carpet of white humps.But Macri also does a brisk business with his two Zodiacs putting people in the water with the whales. He's worked out a system of ropes on the sides of the boat. Towing people behind the boat doesn't work; the whales won't get close. But if you hang off the side, either holding onto a rope with one hand or slipping a loop over your head and around your chest, the whales come right up, sometimes within inches. This is not diving; it's snorkeling. In fact, it's best done without fins. A Special ExperienceOn our final day the action started immediately. A mother and calf passed right under our boat several times. The baby was barely 3 feet long and probably only a few days old. It stayed plastered to mom - a small, mottled gray sausage against the white of the adult. We slid into the water as a group passed. They turned back for a look, a dozen visible in the cloudy green murk. Three were in a row below us, another two hung behind and suddenly four more cut horizontally across. Hey, look right, came a yell from guide Manford Bussell just as a bull slid by. He was so close we could see the puckers around his blowhole. As he passed, a vibration enveloped us like a motor trill, and then a backwash of bubbles surrounded us in a pool of glistening points. The chirps of his calls sounded like a dozen rain forest birds, and the buzz of his echolocation was almost electric.As we headed for shore, we reminisced on our good fortune. Five years ago, we found one small pod of whales that returned to us each day. They hung motionless in a row staring and we stared back. This time, though the water clarity wasn't great, there were more whales and far more action. A different experience, but just as special. TRAVEL PLANNER Whale season is from mid-July to mid- or late August, with peak being late July. General tourist viewing is done aboard a 32-passenger tour boat. Tours in the large boat run about US$45. For snorkeling, you must charter one of the Zodiacs and bring your own wetsuit or drysuit and snorkel gear. Water temperature in the bay is in the 30s. Zodiac rental costs US$110 - $160 per hour.If you're planning to arrange things yourself, contact Sea North Tours, Ltd. (204-675-2195, www.cancom.net/~seanorth). For a package where everything from air to hotel and boat is arranged, contact International Wildlife Adventures (800-593-8881, www.wildlifeadventures.com). A package including air from Winnipeg, four hotel nights in Churchill plus two in Winnipeg, four whale snorkel trips in a Zodiac and assorted other Churchill activities such as hikes and tundra buggy tours goes for approximately US$1,800.