Sunday morning we had a chance to sleep in a little bit. This was much needed because jet lag hit me hard Saturday night. Quick side note about our first two nights on the islands. Granted, it was a Friday and Saturday night… that being said, the Azoreans LOVE to party – LATE and LOUD! Both nights the party wasn’t shut down until 2am. Last night even included at least 3 maybe 4 rounds of random fireworks at 11ish, 12:37, and 1:47. I think there was another one in there… They play the music extra loud and the drunk voices are sometimes even louder especially once the bars shutdown. Cheers, to island life! Live it out LOUD!
Now back to Sunday’s adventure. Our tour package included a whale watching tour with CWAzores. We were scheduled for the 8:20am tour. We received a very informative briefing about the types of whales we might see and a safety brief prior to boarding the Zodiac. It was so good even the former Oceanography Teacher learned something. Did you know – Sperm whales have suction cups on the roof of their mouth? Yes, they do! The main creature of the Sperm whale diet is giant squid. 🦑 Sperm whales are toothed whales and when they bite the giant squid it is all gushy. The suction cups help the whale “slurp” the squid into its mouth.
The tour was very well organized and the crew very knowledgeable and efficient. They helped us board the boat. We rode the zodiac as if we were sitting on a saddle. The ocean was a bit rough and we felt like cowgirls riding the waves! No doubt my sitz bones will be tender tomorrow.
To “find” the whales, the Captain uses the help of Spotters who are stationed on land. They use high powered binoculars to locate the blow (the whale exhaling). The Spotter then communicates via radio to the Captain with coordinates. Here are a few pictures as we left the harbor. This is the coast we hiked yesterday.
During our hike yesterday, Mt Pico was hidden in the clouds. We didn’t even know it was there! It showed out for us today!! Couldn’t help but think back to Mt Fuji – and how many times we heard “on a clear day.”
The Captain took us out beyond the islands and we sat idle waiting for directions from the spotters. Once coordinates were communicated, the Captain would race off in the direction of the whale’s blow. It was quite exciting!!! And then he would position the boat for us to watch the whale. These are pictures are of the first Sperm whale we spotted. It was a mature male.
The Sperm whale can dive 800m and hold its breath for 45 minutes. It has to dive this deep to find the giant squid. Before it dives, it fills its lungs and a portion of its head with air. When it is on the surface it takes big breaths for about 3-5 minutes before diving. Pictures of the whale taking its last breaths before diving.
The Captain and Guide were experts at alerting us when it was about to dive. They would say “get ready” and then “tail” – it was so exciting!!! Here’s my first ever whale tail! By the way – all images are captured with my iPhone.
Here’s a video of the dive.
Once the whale dives, we move on because it won’t be back if a while and probably not in the same spot. We idled for a bit. Then the Spotters alerted us again and off we went. Turns out, we saw science in action. We spotted two juveniles and two mothers. The juveniles are too young to dive and are still nursing. The mothers take turns diving (to eat) or watching the juveniles. The juveniles are able to nurse from either mother!! The Captain didn’t get too close to the juveniles because he didn’t want to scare/ stress them.
Another video…
We idled again… and then we were off! This time to see a pod of dolphins! And there were so many!! They were so cute swimming and playing in our bow wake. The Captain said when they show their white belly they are mating. They were giving us quite the show!
Unfortunately, the idle time made one of our passengers quite sea sick. We felt terrible for them. In my dolphin video you can hear them retching in the background…
We stayed with the dolphins for a while. The guide then informed us that we were going to start our return to port and maybe see things along the way because one of the passengers was so sick. They were so compassionate. Several dolphins swam with us as we sped away. They were faster!!!
Along the way, our Captain spotted a Portuguese Man of War floating on the ocean. They are extremely dangerous jellies. Their tentacles can reach lengths of 20-30 meters! He told us “don’t try this at home” as he reached over and grabbed the top of the creature! The Portuguese Man of War is a staple in the sea turtle diet. It looks like a piece of plastic floating on the surface. It’s easy to understand why sea turtles mistake plastic for jellies and end up dying with their belly full of plastic.
As we continued to port, the spotters alerted us to another Sperm whale. Our Captain steered the boat in the direction of the whale and again we watched as he filled his lungs preparing for his dive.
One final video of another Sperm whale diving. They are so graceful and majestic.
We had one final sighting before we reached port. A young Loggerhead Sea Turtle. The captain again kept his distance because he did not want to scare the turtle.
The trip was another Science Teacher’s dreams come true. A picture as we return to port. Notice the church in the foreground bottom left. That is the church where we started yesterday’s hike. We couldn’t see Mt. Pico yesterday because of the clouds. Honestly, we didn’t even know it was there!!
We had the afternoon to enjoy. We went to get lunch at a delightful burger restaurant overlooking the harbor. My cheeseburger was amazing. The island of São Jorge (we travel there Monday) in the Azores is known for their “happy cows.” They produce delicious cheese and obviously burgers. All washed down with an Azores IPA.
After lunch, we did a little shopping and then wine tasting. Pico island, as I mentioned yesterday, is known for their grapes and wine. The grapes are mostly used to make white wine. I tasted 4 whites and 1 red. The final white was unexpectedly delicious. So good, I want to ship some home… but, tariffs. Instead, I bought a bottle to enjoy over the next couple days.
The Azoreans have been nothing but kind, gracious, and happy to assist us. They speak English very well and much better than I speak Portuguese. Several times they have used extra words to say or ask a question because they don’t know the exact English word to use. For example, one cute story. I was purchasing bevvies at the hotel bar and the bartender asked me, “would you like the little paper that comes out of the machine?” I smiled and said, “yes, please.” I will do my best to always refer to a receipt as “the little paper that comes out of the machine…” so, cute.
The streets on Pico also have the cobblestone decoration. Pictured here are Sperm Whales.
If you made it to the end of this long post – as always, thank you for reading!