On Wednesday 2nd of September, our whale watching boat Risso left the harbor of Horta Northwards the channel between Faial and Pico islands. Little we knew that we had 13 sightings ahead!
The first that we saw was a pod of 150 Atlantic Spotted Dolphins 25 minutes after leaving town, they approached the boat to bow-ride and “people-watch”.
In the middle of that field of dolphins, we spotted a blow from a Sperm whale. Great! Whales and dolphins at the same spot.
When the Sperm whale dived we remained with the dolphins until another whale surfaced, this time a Sei whale.
Sei whales are the most seen baleen whale during the Summer in the Azores. However, we don’t see them as regularly as the Sperm whales. The whale was traveling, probably searching for small schooling fish to eat. Since more boats were coming to join the Sei whale, we left in order to search for more Sperm whales. Along the way, we found 3 Loggerhead sea-turtles in a row: funny juveniles that were basking, resting on the flat surface.
Did we find the Sperm whales? Yes, we did! 8 more Sperm whales! 5 adults, 1 juvenile and 2 calves, some of them socializing. (And another Loggerhead sea-turtle).
At 12:00h sharp, the last Sperm whale dived and we left towards Horta. Enjoying a sunny ride with excellent sea conditions. Oh! And we saw one last Loggerhead sea-turtle!
-Maria from Azores Experiences
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