The 11.00 o'clock show

by firmm Team

After a few days of Levante and full boats all the time, I finally
had the chance to go out on a boat trip again. There was exactly one
seat left so I took the opportunity, changed my work schedule and
went on that boat, to be close to these wonderful animals again. The
ocean was completely calm, like I've only rarely seen it before. This
has the advantage that you can spot the animals much better. The
people on the boat were very excited and full of expectations and
hopes. 10 minutes after we started, we spotted some striped dolphins
in a short distance from the boat but alas they did not delight us
with their presence for long. So we moved towards Morocco where we
spotted a group of Pilot Whales after a while. They were very relaxed
and did not seem to be bothered by our presence. Our tourists were
enthusiastic to see those beautiful and peaceful animals drifting on
the surface. Thanks to the introduction, which all our tourists get
before each whale watching trip, they used this information right a
way and we heard them say: “Look there, the Pilot Whales”.
After a while, we left the group of whales, because Katharina had
spotted some Bottlenose Dolphins jumping in the bow wave of a passing
cargo ship. So we moved in that direction right away and the dolphins
finally appeared next to our boat. They were in a very good mood like
I had never seen them before. Sebastian, our captain, had slowed the
boat down, so that we were moving very slowly. The Bottlenose
Dolphins love to swim in the bow waves, which is the reason why these
active animals stayed around our boat. From the back of the boat we
were able to observe the rest of the group performing a terrific
show. We saw them quite well below the water surface, with the
reflection of the sunrays on their bellies. Everybody was ready
waiting with their cameras, to take the perfect picture at the right
moment. Sometimes the dolphins even jumped out of the depth three at
a time only a few seconds apart, to make their presence even more
spectacular. In the bow, some of the people got wet because a
dolphin deliberately hit the water with his tail fin to get people wet.
Everybody was laughing and enjoying the show. Some of the dolphins
were flaunting the so called breaching. That’s when they stand out of
the water with their full bodies and then let themselves fall
backwards or sideways into the water.

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Photo above: some impressions of the playful Bottlenose Dolphins
around the boat. (Photos: KH)

There were enthusiastic “ohhhhs… ahhhhs…wows” from the tourists.
Apparently, this had a positive effect on these animals, which didn’t
want to leave us anymore. Katharina, obviously thrilled as well and
very happy that our tourists could experience such a great trip, gave
the last comment: “This was our 11.00 o’clock show.” Everybody
laughed and took their final pictures of those so well humoured
dolphins. Back on land everyone thanked us for that great trip.
Somebody even said that this had been the best whale watching tour he
had ever been on.
As for me, I was really happy to have been on that boat trip. To
see the dolphins in such a great mood and full of life was an amazing
feeling and a great adventure, which I will never forget!

-Tina-

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