A successful start - The first week of our season

Text: Brigitte, photos: firmm

The season has begun - with sunshine and cheerful anticipation! On our very first trip on April 1st, we were greeted by a school of Bottlenose Dolphins, around 30 animals, including six small calves. Curious, playful, as if to say: “There you are again.”

Shortly afterwards, we came across an old acquaintance: a Sperm Whale that kept turning slightly towards us, almost as if it wanted to be seen. Its well-healed scar was unmistakable - we had already seen it the previous year. A sighting that gave us great pleasure.

In the afternoon, things continued: our first sponsored animals of the season, Lolly and Puzzle, appeared in a group of 14 dolphins. Then finally the first Pilot Whales, three in number, including our Franzfin. And even more: a family of ten animals, with Edu and Baby Hook. Especially nice: the group has grown! There are now two young animals. They came curiously to the boat - Katharina was very happy to see the Pilot Whales again.

Other sponsored animals seen were Rikki, Sonja and Vicenta.

The day ended with Bottlenose Dolphins - jumping and full of energy.

Ponce and the Sperm Whale - the return of the injured

The second and third days of this week's trips were also all about reunions. We saw the Sperm Whale that had an open wound last year - its condition has visibly improved. Ponce, our sponsored animal, who had suffered a significant injury last season, also made an appearance. His scar healed well - we were relieved.

Another highlight: three dolphin species appeared on a single day - Common Dolphins and Striped Dolphins in addition to the Bottlenose Dolphins. A wonderful spectacle.

The lost containers

On April 6th, we observed something unusual: a freighter lost three containers in the middle of the sea. An unplanned sighting. With binoculars, we could see something floating in the water - a short time later, an orange ship arrived to salvage the containers and towed them towards Algeciras. Hopefully the cargo arrived there safely without any damage to nature.

A day of flying colors

No Pilot Whales on April 7th: Perhaps they were already on their way to the Mediterranean to escape the strong Levante that was forecast for the next few days. But there were two special encounters: Flamingos flew high above us - majestic, elegant and unfortunately already very rare in Tarifa. And later, we saw a tiny turtle, probably still a baby, bravely swimming in the open sea.

The first week was a small celebration for us - full of encounters with old friends, new young animals and moments that allowed us to pause for a moment.

The wonderful world of whales and dolphins is enchanting - and we get to be part of it for another season.