Azores Experiences - Whale Watching & Jeep Tours

2020 is a year for change. Almost everyone will agree on that. But… what kind of change? And this is what we have to discuss, think and rethink. Because that is the important issue. That is what really matters.   (Corvo Island, Azores) Covid-19 has brought an important crisis. Not only a health issue but a social one, and it is global. It seems that the entire humanity has experienced a major setback, but we are forgetting that for many communities, the severe blow hit long time ago. Not the Covid-19 of course, but other health problems, other viruses, lack of sanitary infrastructures, lack of sanitation and lack of resources… From a wealthy status it is easy to forget about others’ problems. As long as we open the tap and water flows, it is easy to forget that some communities do not have access to drinkable water at all. Food can cause an obesity problem in some families, but it is also a malnutrition problem. The excess for some and the lack for others. This duality might not be...

As the whale watching season comes to an end, there are many things I want to talk about. Some are meaningful, others, not so much… I´ll be putting it down to “paper” in weekly instalments, I promise. But the first one is about something that has been eating at me… Dolphin Snorkeling… “Why did you stop?” “What did you see?” “Did you see behaviour changes?” “Don´t the dolphins love people?” “They seem to like when are around them…” “I did it and they loved seeing me!” Atlantic Spotted Dolphin - Stenella frontalis These are some of the comments, questions and insights I have gotten since we stopped this activity, late 2019. Well, there are a few aspects in need of attention. Yes, I have seen behaviour changes. But this is a personal view, there is no meaningful scientific study on this, sadly. My conclusion is that people, as much as they love Nature, feel they are entitled to the experience because THEY have the right motivation, THEY deserve it because THEY have their hearts in...

What is a baleen whale and what is a toothed whale? What do they have in common? What are the differences between them? The group of cetaceans is composed of whales, dolphins and porpoises. Dolphins and porpoises have teeth, but whales can have teeth or baleen plates depending on the species. Sometimes this creates confusion among people. In this post, we will try to explain the differences between baleen and toothed whales, what do they have in common, their origin, their phylogeny and their evolution.  Phylogeny of Cetaceans  Cetaceans, from the Ancient Greek huge fish ( ketos ), are the widest living group of aquatic mammals, they inhabit every ocean basin and some river systems. Their morphology and size are diverse, ranging in adult length from the Vaquita ( Phocoena sinus ) which is 1.45m to the Blue whale ( Balaenoptera musculus ) which grows up to 33m.  They belong to the order of Cetartiodactyla, an order that gathers the old orders of cetacean...

Why can we find such a wide biodiversity in the archipelago? What makes the Azores so special? In the Azores, up to 25 different species of cetaceans can be seen. This is because on the one hand, the islands are located in the path of the migratory route for some species and, on the other hand, they are home for several others. In this post we will explain why the Azores are the perfect habitat for some cetaceans and why they are the perfect “pit stop” for others. Geological and Climate involvement Firstly ,  we need to understand that wild animals are driven by two main things: feeding and reproduction. Migratory species move between feeding grounds in nutrient - rich and typically cold waters and breeding grounds in typically nutrient-poor and warm waters. Non-migratory animals, on the other hand, are those who could find a way to survive in their breeding grounds, meaning that they can find food in the same area where they can breed.  The Azores are 9 v...