Heads and tails

Today we got to see both heads and tails from sperm whales, and breachings a bit far away from us. I think all of us lost count of how many sperm whales we encountered between all our boats. We also enjoyed the company of a large group of bottlenose dolphins and just outside our marina we met our swimming boat and a group of common dolphins. Our swimming boat was out having a great time swimming with these dolphins. It is a wonderful feeling for us, the crew, to have clients smiling for three hours and hopefully bring great memories with them for the rest of their lives.

The afternoon was just as great as the morning. We started the tour with a small group of common dolphins and in no time we were with the sperm whales again. They were surfacing at different times, one after the other so we could see many without waiting for long. In total we counted 5 different adults and we saw a smaller whale further on the surface. All the adults showed their tails and our biologist managed to photograph 4 of them to contribute to our research. Now we have our third tour out there to enjoy some more encounters throughout the late afternoon.

Photos from the morning:

Sperm whale head - can you see the lower jaw?

Sperm whale logging and our boat Song of Whales slowly approaching

Bottlenose dolphin

Glossy ibis?

Aboard João Vigia this morning - lots of smiles :)

Photos from the swimming with dolphins in the morning:

One of our younger clients getting ready to enter the water

Beautiful common dolphins underwater

Photographing the dolphins as they dive into the deep blue

These common dolphins are really beautiful to see under water

Photos from the afternoon:

The first tail of the tour...

The second...

The third...

And the fantastic fourth (only after seeing this photo I noticed the tiny calf under the waterfall)

One of our zodiac boats out on the water this afternoon

Encounters with sperm whales and dolphins

Today we encountered sperm whales, common dolphins and Atlantic spotted dolphins (the latter species only during the afternoon tour). In the afternoon on our third tour whale watchers did not see the sperm whales, but they did have some bonus encounters with striped dolphins, bottlenose dolphins, common dolphins and even a hammerhead shark! We also had some great swimming encounters today, with some of our swimmers in the morning having the luck of seeing a feeding group of common dolphins (together with Cory's shearwaters) that had shoaled a school of mackerel just beneath the surface which the swimmers could observe underwater. As a last bonus, loggerhead turtles were also spotted throughout the day!

Photos of the swimming this morning:

Sperm whale diving

Sperm whale female and baby

A loggerhead turtle just under the surface

Photos from the afternoon:

Sperm whale at the surface

Sperm whale diving, the same whale was seen in the morning

One of our boats with another sperm whale diving

Song of Whales in action

Our swimmers ready to swim with wild dolphins

Common dolphin, look at this calf sticking its head out of the water

Aboard our boat "Song of Whales"

Passing Vila Franca Islet

Another beautiful day in São Miguel, Azores

Photos from our later tour:

Striped dolphins "running"

A bottlenose dolphin in twilight

Aboard one of our two zodiacs this evening

Feeding time!

Today in the morning we encountered many feeding groups of common dolphins and Atlantic spotted dolphins together with Cory's shearwaters, common terns and yellow-legged gulls. Among the spotted dolphins we had some really new born babies, so small that they looked like sardines ;) We also encountered a large group of bottlenose dolphins. The dolphins were diving all the time as they were feeding as well. It was a morning of getting breakfast in the belly for the dolphins. We also saw a loggerhead turtle. As well as whale watching we also went out swimming with bottlenose dolphins, and two boats stopped in Vila Franca do Campo as we also have a Full Day tour. In the afternoon we encountered the same dolphin species, although this time we did not observe any feeding activity. First we encountered a spread out group of common dolphins and later we were surprised by some juvenile Atlantic spotted dolphins that came leaping to our travelling boat at full speed, then disappeared just as quickly as they had appeared. The best encounter in the afternoon was with a group of about 40 bottlenose dolphins who were all travelling together. We also enjoyed beautiful coastal views during the afternoon tour.

Photos from the morning:

A spotted face

Watching spotted dolphins from our zodiac João Vigia

A spotted dolphin jumping and a Cory's shearwater

Cory's shearwaters chasing fish

Bottlenose dolphins

Song of Whales and our swimming boat with bottlenose dolphins

We love to see wild dolphins, but we also love to see children watching wild dolphins

Our morning swimming boat

Photos from the afternoon:

Bottlenose dolphins with Vila Franca Islet in the background

Bottlenose dolphins

A beautiful day off the coast of the green island of the Azores (São Miguel island)

Dolphins in the waves

Today was a dolphin day and a wavy day. We went out on our zodiac boats and medium-sized boats in the morning and afternoon, riding the waves and getting some sea spray in our faces, which is all part of the experience. Out at sea we encountered common dolphins in the morning and afternoon and a group of bottlenose dolphins in the morning. Some people also spotted a bottlenose dolphin among the group of common dolphins in the afternoon, a lone individual that was also seen with common dolphins yesterday. 

Photos from today:

Bottlenose dolphins from the morning tour

A large group of common dolphins sighted in the afternoon

Beautiful common dolphins

One of our boats in the afternoon with common dolphins

Another one of our boats out on the water