26.06.2021 – Three out of four, plus one!
July 3, 2021
29.06.2021 – Students are learning from a dolphin
July 5, 2021
The beauty about encounters with wild marine mammals is that there are always the unexpected. No two days are alike at sea. Everything is always different, new and unforeseen. This is a good practice in staying open to what is coming.
The extraordinary about encounters with wild marine mammals is that you can always be surprised. You are entering this big, blue space of possibilities. It may be that you have a shy or close interactive encounter or no sighting at all. Maybe you will come across something small or large, one or many. It is a good exercise to enjoy what nature gives you.
The uniqueness about the encounters with wild marine mammals is that the most diverse feelings are addressed. Some people are amazed and moved, others feel deeply touched, the next one gushes with joy. Or you experience all of these feelings at once. It is a good exercise to simply enjoy the feelings and to be grateful for the encounter with the wild marine mammals in the large, blue space of possibilities.
Today we had an astounding encounter with a Fin whale (Physalia physalis) at this time of the year, which was supposed to be in the north, in their feeding grounds, for example in Iceland. So a latecomer. These large, fast baleen whales can be recognized by an asymmetrical drawing of the lower jaw, light on the right and dark on the left. We could see this well today.
While our guests admired the solitary whale in awe, the school of Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), which we were allowed to accompany for a while, delighted everyone.
So today we experienced the beauty, the extraordinary and the uniqueness in the large, blue room of possibilities. And there was also a birthday lady on board: Happy Birthday!
By Fatima Kutzschbach
Sightings of the day
Ribeira Brava
10:00 Fin whales, Bottlenose dolphins
