A cetacean day

Today we encountered 6 different cetacean species throughout the day: sperm whales, sei whales, pilot whales, common dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins and striped dolphins. In the morning we first encountered a group of common dolphins feeding together with many seabirds at the surface. Next we found the sperm whales a bit further out and we got to see a few tails as they were going on their deep feeding dives. Closer to land again we encountered a group of about 15 pilot whales which included at least 2 very small newborn babies. They were logging calmly at the surface which is a typical behaviour of this species.  Those that were aboard our zodiac boat this morning also encountered a small group of Atlantic spotted dolphins.

In the afternoon we had our catamaran going out and we were just as lucky as in the morning. This time we encountered sei whales. We counted 4 or 5 individuals who were all travelling together. They were staying near the surface so that we could always follow them from their footprints. After this encounter we went towards the coastline where we encountered a very curious and active group of common dolphins. After watching them for a while we realised there were also some striped dolphins mixed in the group. What a fantastic day!

Photos from today:

One of many sperm whales of today

Pilot whale

Spottted dolphin juvenile (without spots)

Cetus

Photos fom the afternoon:

Sei whale

Common dolphin leaping next to our catamaran Cetus

Common dolphins - mother and calf

Common dolphins racing next to our catamaran

Striped dolphins

Enjoying the ride back along the south coast of São Miguel Island

Top views from our catamaran "Cetus"

Summer solstice sunset tour

This evening we had our first sunset tour of the year. During the summer season we offer the opportunity to enjoy views of the island and watch the sunset from aboard our catamaran "Cetus". Futurismo's sunset tour is typically a relaxed boat tour, but this can be adjusted depending on our clients' preferences. So this time it was more of a party in which we had music and dancing aboard with dinner and drinks. Most guests also took the opportunity to go for a refreshing swim alongside Vila Franca Islet. On our way out we were even lucky enough to come across two dolphin species: bottlenose dolphins and common dolphins. The common dolphins spent some time playing around our boat and leaping near our boat. The highlight was of course the beautiful sunset which lit up the sky in brilliant shades of orange. We hope this will be the first of many sunset tours this summer.

Some photos from this evening: 

Enjoying dinner aboard

Vila Franca Islet

Sei whales and more!

The past week we have been seeing many sei whales and today was another one of these days. We started with 4 sei whales in the morning and got to see them very well. Later on inshore we found another 3 different sei whales. We never tire of seeing the third largest animals in the world! Between our sei whale encounters we also encountered a large group of 100 or more bottlenose dolphins. These dolphins were particularly curious, surfacing with their heads high out of the water. Our morning whale watching tour ended with an encounter with common dolphins that were leaping playfully alongside our boats (to see a video of this on our Facebook page click HERE). Our swimming tour in the morning had some great swims with two different species: the bottlenose dolphins and also Atlantic spotted dolphins. Those on our full day tour (that includes a visit to Vila Franca Islet in the afternoon) also encountered a group of striped dolphins. In total among our different boats we encountered 5 cetacean species just in the morning!

In the afternoon we had two zodiac boats returning to sea and they encountered sei whales once again. Our afternoon whale watchers also encountered common dolphins and a a loggerhead turtle to complete the tour.

Photos from today:

Sei whale blow

Sei whale

Adult bottlenose dolphin

A young bottlenose dolphin

Common dolphins bowriding our catamaran

Eye to eye with a common dolphin

Whale Watching and a visit to a volcano in the ocean

Today is a typical summer's day in São Miguel, Azores. Our day was spent whale watching, swimming with dolphins and for some also snorkeling inside a lagoon inside an extinct volcanic crater in the ocean (Vila Franca Islet). Today marks the first day of the season that we are running our "full day tour" which includes whale watching in the morning, a local lunch in Vila Franca and an afternoon spent snorkeling in the islet which is a protected area and great place to see a variety of fish. In the morning our whale watchers first encountered bottlenose dolphins together wth some common dolphins close to Ponta Delgada and later sperm whales. After some waiting we encountered two sperm whales at the surface, one of which was a large male and showed a beautiful high tail. We also had a boat going out to swim with dolphins in the morning and they had a great underwater experience with the bottlenose dolphins.

In the afternoon we started the trip with a playful group of common dolphins but we soon left the area looking for some sperm whales. Unfortunately these sperm whales never showed up and we found instead a nice group of Atlantic spotted dolphin feeding together with Cory's shearwaters.

Photos from today:

Swimming with bottlenose dolphins

Bottlenose dolphins

Large male sperm whale head (this head can make up one third of the total body length)

Male sperm whale stretching, showing almost the entire body length

Male sperm whale diving

Vila Franca Islet

The lagoon inside Vila Franca Islet

Red rock crabs/Sally lightfoot crabs (Grapsus adsecnsionis)

Yellow legged gull (the only gull species that nests in the Azores)

Yellow legged gull with its chick (one of the first of the season)

Photos from the afternoon from the full day tour to the islet:

A morning spent with a sperm whale

This morning we went to the East of São Miguel Island to encounter a lone sperm whale that our vigia had spotted. Our zodiac boat arrived to the area first and got to see the magnificent tail of this sperm whale as it went on a deep dive. Our catamaran arrived to the area later and had to wait quite some time before the whale returned to the surface. After some patience the whale came up, but far from its last dive location. We saw the tail, but only from far away. However, we were lucky later on, as we returned to see the same whale (after watching a loggerhead turtle) again. This time we were able to see the whale a lot better as it spent longer on the surface and we were able to see the tail from closer. The whale had a lot of white marks on the underside of its tail, which will help us to later on identify it. We also got to see a small group of bottlenose dolphins from our catamaran, so it ended up being a very complete tour with the whale, dolphins and turtle.

Photos from today:

Sperm whale fluke - the second time from the catamaran

The first sperm whale fluke seen from the catamaran

Sperm whale logging at the surface

Bottlenose dolphin with a broken top jaw (we have seen this individual for many years already)

Another interesting bottlenose dolphin with a white mark on its back behind the dorsal fin

Loggerhead turtle coming up over a wave

Cory's shearwaters

A mixed day

Today we had a mixture of different sightings in the morning and afternoon aboard our whale watching and dolphin swimming tours. In the morning our whale watchers encountered 3 sperm whales. There were 2 adults and a juvenile seen together. After watching them for a while all three whales showed their tails! In the morning a group of about 40 common dolphins were also encountered and our swimmers enjoyed a nice swim with these dolphins. They were in feeding mode as a large concentration of seabirds (mostly Cory's shearwaters) were seen around them. In the afternoon we encountered 3 different dolphin species: common dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins and striped dolphins. Out of all these encounters the Atlantic spotted dolphins turned out to be the most photogenic and curious towards our catamaran.

Photos from today:

Atlantic spotted dolphin close-up

Morning tour swimming with dolphins (with many Cory's shearwaters around)

Juvenile Atlantic spotted dolphin 

Adult Atlantic spotted dolphin

Atlantic spotted dolphins - adult and juvenile