13.07.2024 – Need for Speed
July 20, 2024
15.07.2024 – Siesta
July 22, 2024
“Mar de aceite”, literally means the oil-ocean, which is an expression that is used in Portugal for very calm sea days, when there is not a breeze of wind to cause any disturbance in the water, allowing us to see through the water for several meters. Today was one of these days, we headed out to the sea in the morning with amazing sunshine. Everybody did put an extra layer of sun cream on and off we went.
The morning tours were easy – finding three different species in an area of a few hundred meters. A large group of Striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) dashing out of the ocean, the water seemed to boil. Our beloved Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis) jumped into exact opposite direction, to our delight towards the boats! The misterios Rough-toothed dolphins (Steno brendalis) were the cherry on the cake, today being particularly curious. My thought is that, on oil-like days, the animals are able to observe much better underneath the water, what might allow them to gain confidence. Even the usually extremely cautious Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus) swam calmly around us in both afternoon tours. We picked up some trash from the ocean, even able to observe Mahi-mahi fish (Coryphaena hippurus) hiding underneath. We found several Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) logging on the surface warming up. You just gotta love these calm sea days! Now you might be thinking – Wow, what a day?! Well, there was even a large Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) surprising us during our afternoon tours. As I use to say, please don’t expect this to happen every day, it needs lots of luck (and oil-like days) for this to happen…
By Sarah Kather
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
09:30 Striped dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins, Rough toothed dolphins
13:30 Bottlenose dolphins, Risso’s dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins, Sperm whale
Stenella
09:30 Striped dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins, Rough toothed dolphins
14:00 Bottlenose dolphins, Risso’s dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins, Sperm whale
17:00 Sperm whale, Risso’s dolphins
