Dear Readers, today we actually managed to get out into the North Atlantic to look for whales. We’re travelling in RIB boats (Rigid Inflatable Boat), which means that you bounce across the ocean on what feels like a bucking bronco. I sit in the less desirable seats at the back (largely because I have a dodgy back) which means I don’t get walloped quite as much as the boat climbs the waves and then crashes down again. It’s all rather exhilarating.

Sperm Whales!

My main reason for wanting to come to the Azores was to see the sperm whales – there is a group of females and juveniles who are resident here all year round, making them relatively easy to keep track of. We saw probably about 15 whales during two trips, and on several occasions we saw females with calves who appeared to be feeding – sperm whale mums produce a very thick, fatty milk which doesn’t immediately wash away in the water, so you can see the calves diving down to feed and then bobbing up again. The females sometimes feed a calf that isn’t their own, a behaviour called allosuckling, which is extremely rare – apparently the only other mammals that do it are feral cats and African elephants (and occasionally humans).

I just loved seeing them. What extraordinary animals they are! My photos don’t do them justice, but I thought it was more important to just sit and take in the experience. I suspect that some of the other people on the trip might have some great photos, so hopefully quality might improve later.

We also saw a pod of common dolphin, probably about 100 in total – they were showing mating behaviour (one dolphin rolls onto its back as an invitation) and there was a lot of jumping and tearing around. These dolphins have a pale yellow patch on their side, and are smallish creatures, fast and elegant.

Common dolphin (Photo by By Mmo iwdg – Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=10262057)

And finally we saw a Portuguese Man O War. It’s not actually a jellyfish, though it looks like one – these animals are siphonophores, a colony of different organisms. It has a nasty sting, which is mainly used to kill the fish that are its prey. They can also cause severe pain in humans, and apparently the treatment is immersion of the affected part in water at 45 degrees for 20 minutes, which sounds pretty uncomfortable to me! A Portuguese Man O War looks so much like a plastic bag that it’s no wonder that turtles are munching on plastic bags by mistake.

And now, dear Readers, I am off to bed. It’s been a long day of bouncing about, and that, combined with the sea air, is definitely turning my thoughts towards sleep. More tomorrow!