Marcus had arranged a good deal with another operator called Norberto. I had heard about Norberto several times and even had seen his hut near that of Tiago but never approached. I had also seen this short guy with long blond/gery hair and beard like a weathered seaman several times by the harbour ... but never figured out it was Norberto. He has born in Horta ... most probably directly into the sea ... and has lived his entire life seafaring ... so he was very well know in Faial... and very well respected.
Woke up around 7am to get some breakfast and sort myself out before meeting Marcus outside the house to walk down to the harbour. Prepared my mobile to take some shots and took minimum stuff with me as could easily be on a rib.
As soon as i met Carlos we walked to the harbour in 15 minutes and as we got there early we had a coffee at Peter's cafe' ... walked down to Norberto's hut and met the others from the department who had joined in the trip ... there were loads of people ... some 24 ... and so 2 boats were being organised.
A short brief was given at the hut about the different dolphins and whales that roam around the Azores islands ... then we were offered a jacket ... and made way to the boat. We were on the bigger catamaran whihc Norberto himself was handling ... and so i was pleased to be with him on this trip.
The trip out of Horta harbour was already a bit bumpy as a North-Westerly wind was blowing right from Monte da Guia's direction but everybody was hyped up and looking forward to the event. As we went past the Northest part of Pico we started picking up pace to get to the South part of Pico ... some 3 miles out ... when we started seeing dolphins. All those who had never seen dolphins were estatic... as loads of them were jumping around.
As we all had enough of the dolphins ... which are so sweet and delicate ... Norberto started the chase to see some whales. Now this is what probably disappointed much of us ... myself and Carlos at least ... that watching the whales was nothing even close to the word watching as we could not have a good look at them as we had of the dolphins. In fact if you have a look at the videos below you need to pay a lot of attention to the vertical spray from the 3 whales' spouts ... if you blink you miss them ...
In this video below you need to pay attention at the 1.35 moment when one of the whales lifts her tail above the sea level ... again ... don't blink.
In fact i was lucky enough to have been filming at the moment as others were looking elsewhere and missed it outstight ... but that's it ... not much more could we see of the whales.
Turning back and heading to Horta harbour was a bit of a nightmare as the rough seas increased and now we were fighting against the waves. It was no problem for me but i could see others banging all over the place while others rushing to the side to throw up. There were moments when i could see in some people's eyes the fear that we're about to topple over as we swung from side to side as the waves grew higher and higher.
As soon as we got under cover from Faial it got better and the everyone was releaved that we can safely reach the port. We paid €35 as a special price and started out walk back to the house. Marcus spoke about his disappointment as he found the money we paid ... considering it was a special price ... too excessive for what we saw. So i tried to console him by saying that they're not allowed to get closer to the whales as they could injure them ... but agreed on the choice of words 'Whale watching' ... so he laughed it off when i suggested 'Whale spotting' like in Train Spotting.
As i got home it was around 4pm ... too late to go to the department ... and too early to call it a day ... so i decided to go swimming ... this time i take my mask.
As i walked down to Porto Pim the waves were blowing through as the 'Majjistrale' was favourably vicious on this side of Monte da Guia ... so i walked down to the beach ... walked on the 150m stretch of sand ... only few people were swimming there as it was windy but doable ... and reached the spot were i had swam before ... but this time i'd rather cross over to the other sheltered side especially with such a wind.
As i made my way to the other southern part of the Monte i could see that the shore was all slanting rocks and inaccessible ... hmmm ... lets have a look. I started walking up the tarmaced road to the top of Monte da Guia checking any paths down to the rocky shore ... at one point i saw an old derelict of a house by the side street on the shore's side and thought i'm sure whoever built it there wanted access to the sea ... and my intuition was correct ... there by the side was an abondened steep pathway down to the shore but with a rope that someone had conveniently laid there.
Quickly climbed down to the shore which was a normal rocky beach but inclined at 45 degrees all the way down to the sea ... so quite iffy ... but not slippery ... and so managed to walk some 30m to get to a better piece of shore.
The sea was nice and clear but as i went further out and deep the sand at the bottom was making the visibility worse. Enjoyed the swim and disproved the maltese saying 'Tibqa fil wicc bhal qallut' ... to my sweet releave ...
After some 45 minutes swimming i managed to climb up as the sun was setting ... and so quickly dried up ... changed clothes ... climbed up to the road ... and made my way home.
Dinner was simple tonight ... fried egg on toast and some more toast ... tea & biscuits ... and watched TV until i was about to fall asleep ... when someone was at the front door.
Marcus came over to enquire if i'd like to join him to Pico tomorrow ... and so we agreed to meet at 745am the next morning.
Back in bed ... and off to sleep ... God bless you all ...
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