Catamaran 10.6.25
When we walked along the Marina earlier in the week we noted various ways of going whale watching and the larger boats are catamarans (there are also rib boats but they are far too small for Jackie) and we booked an afternoon trip for today on one of the cats as the sea looks pretty flat and the weather looks good for the Tuesday.
Last time we went whale watching off of Boston poor Jackie was bedevilled with sea sickness until the return journey and so far this week the sea has looked calm and there are no obvious strong winds and so it proved as we headed out along the south coast of the island in an eastwards direction. This means we pass Lagoa where we are staying for the rest of the week – but we are far enough out to be unable to identify details apart from a very tall white building – some sort of vertical store.
After today’s trip I reach the conclusion that there is an ongoing problem with whale watching – it depends where they are and in terms of visibility. In terms of time we spend about an hour to reach an area where the crew hope we will see something – but nothing much emerges except a fin or two. Visible but not long enough to get a decent photo. So we move to another location and there are underwater shapes – where are informed there are a number of dolphins just under the surface – perhaps it is just too warm to come up today – who knows.
Distant fin 10.6.25
So there is an imbalance of time spent travelling and watching on one hand and even when there if they do not want to come out to play you do not see very much!
It is then an hour back to port – and in my personal view the risk / reward ratio did not work today – but at least Jackie was not ill as it remained smooth in both directions. We stayed in the cabin as that moves around less and consequently is less likely to cause upset.
After a drink on our return we walk around looking at the various restaurants but we had already decided we are having an Indian today as a change from the local cuisine which otherwise becomes a little boring as it is similar in most places. It was recommended by some Americans in the hotel bar earlier in the week but it as a welcome change.