We woke up this morning around 7:00 local time. There was an orchestra of birds chirping outside our window, the sky was blue, the temperature was a comfortable 60ish degrees, the winds and ocean were calm. It was a perfect day to go whale watching. The Azores are very well known for both the number and variety of whales in these waters. Some species are year round residents while others simply pass by on their migratory route. We've seen a bunch of humpback, orcas and pilot whales in other places but we were excited at the opportunity of spotting two of the largest whales, the sperm and blue whale. We joined ten other folks on a small inflatable zodiac boat and headed out to sea for a three hour tour (que the Gilligan's Island music).
Not long after leaving the marina we were cruising along with a pod of striped dolphins. These dolphin are much smaller than the bottlenose dolphin we're used to seeing around AMI. They were playful and plentiful so it was a nice show. After that we spotted a pod of bottlenose dolphin which we enjoyed but probably not as much as the folks who were seeing them for the first time. After about two and a half hours of searching it happened. Our guide said, "sorry the whales are just not cooperating today" and it's time to head back to the marina. It was a great trip with some beautiful views of the island but we were left with just one Christmas Carol that we could sing.........No Whales, No Whales!
Not long after leaving the marina we were cruising along with a pod of striped dolphins. These dolphin are much smaller than the bottlenose dolphin we're used to seeing around AMI. They were playful and plentiful so it was a nice show. After that we spotted a pod of bottlenose dolphin which we enjoyed but probably not as much as the folks who were seeing them for the first time. After about two and a half hours of searching it happened. Our guide said, "sorry the whales are just not cooperating today" and it's time to head back to the marina. It was a great trip with some beautiful views of the island but we were left with just one Christmas Carol that we could sing.........No Whales, No Whales!
 |
| Bring on the whales! |
 |
| On the lookout! |
 |
| See any whales....................neither did we! |
 |
| Our hotel from the boat |
