azwhales
Today was THE DAY. We left Ponta Delgada’s port with a nice warm day, the sea was flat as a plate and our boat full of teenagers eager to discover the Azorean ocean.
We headed west but after some time navigating our captain took a sharp turn and headed east, something unique was surely waiting for us. We saw a turtle for a second but we didn’t stop, the sighting of the day was about to arrive.
Suddenly we saw a huge black dorsal fin breaking the surface of the water, we had encountered a group of Orcas. We could identify at least one male, four females and one calf. They were swimming around our boat, showing their flukes, slapping the water with their pectoral and caudal fins with their bodies facing upwards, an incredible spectacle that left us in awe. A turtle appeared in the area and we all thought the feeding time was coming for the orcas, but the turtle got lucky and escaped as the orcas were distracted.
Unfortunately, the time to leave arrived and we abandoned these majestic animals. We all had an intense feeling of having witnessed something memorable, it’s not everyday that we spot this rare species. Hopefully they will stay on the area for a few more days.
On top of that, on the way back we sighted an adult Risso dolphin with a calf that delighted us with their particular coloration and swam close to our boat.
We all arrived to Ponta Delgada with a huge smile on our faces and the sun shining brightly. Let’s see what these amazing waters are keeping for us in the next days!
azwhales
Futurismo Biologists Team
Sandrina Rodrigues
