Whale of a Time
Yesterday I did my first whale watch tour on a rib boat with Terra Azul and man was it incredible. Evan planned our vacation - all I did was book the flights and hotels. He sent me the entire itinerary but I didn’t really look at it so I didn’t know the details - just that we were going whale watching. I expected it to be like any New England whale watch I’ve been on and man was I incorrect. We got to sit in the third row from the front, just he and I, and we were in a tiny little rib boat. It was SO awesome - the waves hit like they do on a jet ski, it was so fun! We saw FOUR different sperm whales in four different locations - this was interesting because previously I have only seen humpback and minke whales, which are baleen whales (no teeth). Sperm whales have teeth and a single blowhole, and they use echolocation to hunt and navigate! They have a microphone they were going to lower so we could hear it, which would’ve been really cool, but they kept seeing more wildlife so we kept moving.
I cried at least three times - we saw atlantic spotted dolphins, which are nicknamed the puppies of the ocean because they are playful, inquisitive, and fast! They followed us for a while and also intermingled with a group of bottlenose dolphins (think flipper) which apparently doesn’t happen very often. The bottlenose dolphins were huge compared to the spotted ones! At the end we also saw a dolphin native to the azores, the atlantic white-sided dolphin. I took several videos and I’m sure I caught some decent footage so I’m excited to go through it. At one point we were basically surrounded and there are SO MANY BABIES. It was breathtaking.
On our way back we circled Ilhéu de Vila Franca do Campo, a volcanic crater just off of Sao Miguel that is a protected area for migratory birds.
Next, we headed for lunch at Atlantico Azorean and got the best table in the house (literally the picture on their website). Evan had his favorite dish to date, tuna! I had some tagliatelle pasta that was also pretty good.
We had plenty of time before our dinner reservation (Evan had to make it a month in advance!) so we went to two different viewpoints to see Lagoas Das Sete Cidades. One viewpoint required a small hike which also allowed us to see another smaller lagoon. It was a great time and a good way to burn off lunch. The Azores also have these really handy cameras at all the viewpoints so you can check for fog before you go!
We took a nap back at the resort and woke to a 5.1 magnitude earthquake, so that was fun - our whole villa shook but no damage was reported anywhere so that’s good.
Dinner at Rotas was definitely a high point - the restaurant had great vibes (staff and decor) and was all vegetarian! We ate and drank our hearts out and then drove home and went to bed at 9pm like responsible adults on our honeymoon. I think the whale watch really took it out of us!
Até amanhã!
