The Last Day - Day 7

Day 7 has been a very long day, and also a frustrating day, but still good nonetheless. We got up for breakfast as planned and left the hotel for Tarifa to catch the boat at 10am with the intention of being out on the water for four or five hours.

Before setting off on our final voyage the above photo was taken. It shows Pierre, David, Fran, Me, Mike, Silvia, Gill, Gabriele and Sara.

We left harbour and headed towards the place where we first found the killer whales on Monday. Very soon we come upon a group of Bottlenose dolphins. These were not residents, but passing through from further east to the Atlantic to feed. We didn’t stay long with them as we wanted to try and find Orca on our final day.

As we continued west it became clear that there was a problem with the boat. It kept losing power when the captain tried to accelerate. The captain thought it was a fuel filter that was the problem so we went back to port to get the boat repaired after only an hour at sea.

We arranged to meet up at ten to 12 at the Turmares (the whale watching company) office to find out how long it would take to fix, and if it wasn’t fixable to go on the Jackelin again which sailed at 12. When we met we found out that the part had arrived, but that the mechanic was going out on the Jackelin so couldn’t do the repairs. We then arranged to meet again at 1pm while another mechanic was found. What made it even more frustrating was that Orcas had been seen in the Straight.

When we reconvened again we discovered that the boat actually needed two filters and only one had been brought, plus the mechanic that had been found was inexperienced and didn’t know how to fix the problem. We were given the option of going out on Turmares’s third (middle sized boat), the Dolphin Safari. This would be a two hour trip(from 1 til 3) and there was then a possibility of going back on the Rainbow before it was booked out again by another group at 5.

We boarded the Dolphin Safari, having been briefed by Pierre on the best places to stand, and hoped for the best. The boat didn’t leave port until 1.30 and due to the lack of sightings (they offer money back or a free trip if nothing is seen) we stayed out a long while, before eventually seeing a group of Striped dolphins just before heading back to Tarifa. We did also see an Ocean Sunfish jump out of the sea in front of the boat a couple of times, which is apparently very rare.

By the time we got back to port it was 4pm and we were a bit dejected that that would be it, and it was a disappointing end after such a good week. Then we were given the surprise news that the Rainbow booking had been cancelled and that we could go out on it for a couple of hours. It had been a long day and Gabriele decided she would rather go back to the hotel, so took a taxi while the rest of us set out onto the sea again at 5pm, 7 hours after we had initially done so.

We immediately headed west and after a while found a group of Moroccan fisherman, but sadly they had seen nothing, and once again were not going to start fishing until later. So as time was short we turned and went east and then saw some Striped dolphins with a few Common dolphins coming towards us. We followed alongside and watched for a while before heading off again.

A little later we found some Bottlenose dolphins swimming west and watched them briefly. They were not resident, but another group passing through as Pierre did not recognise any of their dorsal fins. The Bottlenose dolphins turned out to be both our first and last sightings of the week as we had to reluctantly head back to Tarifa for the final time.

We drove back to the hotel and had a swim before showering and going over to the bar for a drink before dinner. We then went in to eat with the others for the last time. We ate our meal and were given a free drink by the hotel staff afterwards which was a very strong drink that tasted like Lemsip and vodka.

After dinner we went over to the bar and had a last cocktail together. Fran had her large Bacardi and Sprite while I had one of Pierre’s favourite Mojitos. Then it was back to the room to pack and type this before falling asleep at about 1am.

Another New Species - Day 6

Day 6 was a bit different from the others as we didn’t go out on the boat first thing. The forecast was for the Levanté to keep blowing for a while and die down later on, so the boat was booked from 4pm for four or five hours.

We had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, but when we went back to our room we had a bit of drama. When I opened the bathroom window a snake reared up on the windowsill. I shut the window quickly, but caught it’s tail in the window. Every time I tried to open the window to flick out the tail it reared up again. We did eventually manage to get it free without it getting inside and it slithered off down the passageway. We were then picked up at 11am and headed into Tarifa. Fran and I had planned to spend the morning in town before meeting the others just before 4 for the trip.

The first thing we did was go to the castle and had a look around and a climb on the ramparts. Much of the tower was built by Guzman el Bueno who had a son captured during one war against the muslims. The muslims told him that they would kill his son if he didn’t surrender the keys to the castle (and city), so he apparently threw down his knife and said (in Spanish I suspect) “go on then”...so they did, by slitting his throat with the knife that had been thrown down. He still refused to surrender and so to the towns people he was a hero.

After the castle (where my bag split and I bounced my 40D and 100-400 lens on the concrete) we spent the rest of the morning shopping and getting presents for people. Then when the shops started to close at 2pm we went for lunch. We both decided to have pasta at the El Torreon restaurant which was quite nice, and then had an ice cream before heading down to meet the others.

We left harbour at quarter past 4 and just 25 minutes after heading east we found a large group of Striped dolphins. They were feeding amongst the fishing boats, but we couldn’t get that close because of the fishing lines from the back, but some of them came to see us. There were a number of them swimming around the boat, along with a few Common dolphins, another new species for us.

We bobbed around in the water watching the group for about 20-25 minutes before heading off to see if we could find any sign of the Sperm whale that had been seen in the area. There was no sign of it, even though the water was flat calm and we could see a long way, so we went to look for Orca. We travelled west for just over an hour before seeing anything, and then saw some Bottlenose dolphins. We watched them for 10-15 minutes before taking up the hunt for Orca again.

We continued west and sailed amongst the Moroccan fishermen again. They had not seen any Orca, only Swordfish but there were no Pilot whales about so we were still hopeful. The problem was that the fishermen were in position, and were ready to cast their driftnets, but were waiting for dark so there was no activity.

We headed back east for another search for the Sperm whale, but again there was no sign of it although we did see some jumping Sardines on the way. It was now 10 past 8 and as we struck out for home we came upon the Striped and Common dolphins again. They were jumping all around us. We were surrounded and wherever we looked there were leaping dolphins, almost as far as the eye could see. It was an incredible sight.

After watching them for 15 minutes we had to make port, so reluctantly left them to their fun and headed back. When we returned we walked to the beach to watch the sun go down then had dinner. After that we headed back to the hotel, stopping briefly at the beach across the road to look for shooting stars and bioluminescants in the sea, before getting to our rooms around midnight.

Coping with the Levanté - Day 5

Day 5 began with a trip into Tarifa to catch the boat at 10am. The sun was hot and the sea was calm as we headed out of port. We headed south-east to see if we could catch sight of any Striped or Common dolphins, or even a Sperm whale.

The African coast was shrouded in mist as we headed out, and we soon came across a small group of Bottlenose dolphins. We didn’t stay for long as we continued eastwards, and before very much longer, while we were looking out for the blow of a whale, we saw some fins. Just a few at first, but then more and more.

We had found a pod of Striped dolphins. Much smaller that Bottlenose but striped along their flanks they sped through the water jumping as they went. The group seemed to be of about a hundred or so, but we were told that with Striped dolphins you count how many you can see and multiply by 5.

We watched them jumping, hunting, swimming and generally playing about, and then at one point when a big ship went past they suddenly all sped off in a big line, like they were having a race. The sea was becoming a little rougher now and the mist was creeping westwards too. Although we had only been out for about an hour our captain said that the Levanté was coming and that we would have to head back into port.

Our original plan when we got back to port was to do a bit of bird watching and then visit the Roman ruins of Baelo Claudia at Bolonia. Having got back to port early we had the option of going out on the biggest Turmares boat or carrying on with the rest of our day a bit early. All except one wanted to go out on the other boat so we joined the other 120 or so members of the general public who had bought a ticket and headed out to sea once more.

The sea had got a bit worse since we came in, but in the bigger boat, the Jackelin, the captain set a south-easterly course and away we went. We sailed for about an hour before eventually we came across a group of Bottlenose dolphins. There were maybe around 20 or so, and although we had good seats near the edge, there we so many more people about that the experience wasn’t as good as on the Rainbow.

As this was only a 2 hour trip the boat then turned and began to head back. The sea was getting rougher all the time and each time the captain tried to turn across the swell, the boat rolled huge amounts and he had to change course to steady it up. This continued all the way back, so much so that the boat sailed well past the harbour and into slightly calmer water to enable it to turn. A number of people were sick on the way back.

When we got back to dry land Pierre took his friend Sara, who arrived last night, back to her hotel (she was one who had been sick), Mike and Gill went off on their own and Fran and I went for lunch with Gabriele, Silvia and David. After lunch we went back to the hotel for a swim to cool off before heading off in the van again at about 5pm.

We went up into the mountains a little way and saw some vultures and bee-eaters, although from quite a distance away. On the way back we stopped at the Roman ruins of Baelo Claudia at Bolonia and had a good look around there. When we had finished, at 8pm, we returned to the hotel for a quick swim and a shower before going out for dinner at 9pm.

Dinner was at the Hotel Punta Sur less than a mile up the road from ours, and was very nice. After dinner we headed back to our hotel and went to the bar for cocktails. I had a Mojito and Fran had a Bacardi and Sprite, with lots of Bacardi. We had a great evening and got back to our room just before 1am.

Orcas - Day 4

Day 4 was a good day. No, day 4 was a very good day!

I had a swim before breakfast, which was our first at the hotel, and a very nice it was too. There was all sorts of bread, croissants, etc. as well as a large selection of fruit, yoghurts and even muffins. With a good meal inside us we left the hotel and headed into Tarifa to catch the boat which had been booked for 11. The weather forecast was right and the wind had dropped and the sea was calm.

As we walked to the pontoon with the sun beating down I said to Fran “I’ve got a feeling that this is going to be a good day”. The seven of us along with Pierre and the captain, José María Caballero (who looks like Ilie Nastase), set off just after 11, and headed out into the middle of the Straight of Gibraltar where we came across our first sighting before 11.30.

Just as on Saturday it was a group of bottlenose dolphins that we found first. They didn’t come up to the boat in the same way that they had previously, but there seemed to be more of them and they played happily around us. There was a very young one in the group that Pierre thought had just been born. We watched them tail slapping and jumping up into the air for about half an hour before we moved off.

We headed west, towards the Atlantic, where a small fleet of Spanish fisherman were doing their days work. The Orcas (Killer Whales) in the area tend to gather near the fishermen and try to grab the Blue Fin Tuna that they are fishing, so we hoped to find some nearby.

It took us about three quarters of an hour to reach the area where the fishermen were, and on the way we saw a flock of storks making their way to Africa. Apart from a few seabirds we saw little else on the way but we were told that the lack of Pilot Whales was a good sign as they tend not to be around when the Orcas are in the area.

At twenty to one, in the distance, we caught sight of a couple of fins briefly. They seemed quite large and it looked like a flash of white as well as black. We had seen our first Killer Whales! There were three groups in the area, one of 3, one of 5 and one of 9. We got closer and managed to get some great views of these magnificent creatures. It was the group of five that we were watching. They would come to the surface three or four times, then dive for about 5 minutes and we were watching all around us to see where they would come up again.

Fran was very good at spotting them when they resurfaced and was often the first to see them when they did. She was very excited. When we had been watching them for about 40 minutes, and at a time when they were diving and we were watching for them, we saw two smaller fins appear. This it turned out was a swordfish, and both fins were on the same animal.

The Orcas soon started heading off in a south-easterly direction. It turned out that there was a fleet of Moroccan fishermen out too, and so we followed the Orcas into Moroccan waters. These fishing boats were not much bigger than rowing boats and were manned by 3 to 5 men each with no nets or winch, just a line with which to catch the Tuna. The Orcas knew that snatching a meal from these guys would be easier than from the Spanish.

The Orcas moved amongst these boats and we followed them, just 3 miles from the coast now. Although we didn’t actually see them with any food, Pierre thinks that they may have got a Tuna from their behaviour. We hope so, as this may encourage them to come back for more tomorrow. Another boat turned up to watch them while we were there, along with a sport fishing boat looking for Tuna. We left them and headed back towards Spain and came across another group of 3 Orcas moving in amongst the Moroccan fishermen. We watched these for a short while until our time was up. We had been out for nearly 4 hours of which the last two were spent in the company of Killer Whales.

On our way back to port I mentioned to Pierre the fact that I had said to Fran that I’d had a feeling we were going to have a good day, and he said we were very lucky. They have a day like today maybe 4 times each summer. But it still wasn’t over. Just before the harbour we came across another small pod of dolphins moving west as we headed north across their path.

After returning to port we went to the Tarifa Eco Centre, one of the few restaurants still open at this time (most shops and things are closed between 2pm and 6pm then open again until late into the evening). We had a fantastic, and very filling pizza. After that we came back to the hotel and have swam, read, had a few snacks and generally relaxed.

I’m going across to the bar now to have a beer and see if I can post this. Tomorrow we are leaving port at 10, and if the day is half as good as today it will be great!

Between the Pillars of Hercules - Day 2

Day 2 has turned out to be almost as long as day 1, lying in bed typing this seems an awfully long time since we got up. Our alarms were set for 6am and we were ready to go at 7. Breakfast in the hotel doesn’t begin until 8 so we missed that, but Pierre took us to a little cafe in Tarifa where we had freshly squeezed orange juice and some churros, which was basically strips of fried dough – a straight doughnut. It was very nice and as we sat outside and ate there were loads of swifts flying around us.

We then made our way to the harbour and our boat, the Rainbow. We got our life jackets on and at 8.22 we set off into the second busiest shipping lane on the planet (after the English Channel). The many large ships use two lanes of traffic, along the African coast into the Mediterranean or the European coast if heading for the Atlantic. By quarter to 9 we were in the middle of the Gibraltar Straight, roughly 7km from both Europe and Africa.

Almost immediately we were surrounded by a pod of bottlenose dolphins who were in playful mood. One or two we saw leap right out of the water, others rode the bow wave of the boat, and we saw plenty of fins (and took a few photos of them too). A couple of them would leave their tails sticking out of the water and wave them at as...at least that’s what it looked like they were doing. One even came out of the water, tail first, and was doing something like a headstand (with just it’s head in the water). Pierre said he’d never seen this before.

As we moved further westwards we saw a large number of long finned Pilot whales. These were in small groups of about 4 or 5, but there were lots of groups. One group even had a tiny calf which was only a couple of weeks old.

When we had been out for an hour and a half we went further west to try and get a glimpse of Orca (killer whales). Chances were slim as they don’t tend to mix with Pilot whales, and they also tend to appear when the Spanish fishermen are out as they can steal their tuna. We came across more Bottlenose dolphins and Pilot whales, but the Orca proved elusive. Some fishermen did make an appearance but they were not fishing for Tuna, sadly, to attract the killer whales.

We had been out for nearly 4 hours and the weather was changing. The westerly wind was giving way to an easterly one, the Levanté, which is not so good for sailing. We headed back and the sea was definitely a little rougher. The bad news is that it will be too rough to go out tomorrow so we will have a cetacean free day.

After the boat trip we had lunch in a local restaurant. Fran had carbonara and I had seafood with fresh pasta, which was both large and very nice. We popped into the supermarket on the way back to get some fruit and other bits and pieces.

When we got back we had a swim in the pool. Fran then read for a bit and I went down to the beach to watch (and photograph) the kitesurfers.

After a (very) quick dip to cool off in the pool we got changed and met the others to head into Tarifa. Pierre gave us a brief tour, then we explored by ourselves for an hour during which we got lost as well as seeing a wedding and a christening. We met up again at 8.30 and had Tapas for tea along with a selection of Sherry. After eating we headed back to the hotel.

In the outside bar in the garden there were some acrobats performing and I watched them as I sipped a Mojito. With that safely drunk I walked back to our room to write this, and now I will stop to go to sleep as we are going to Africa in the morning.