Imperia, as the beautiful city it is, is hosting many people during their summer
vacations. The streets are lively, the beaches are full and the bakeries are running
out of focaccias. And so, we did not expect the whale-watching boat- the Corsara, to
have a room for us on the first Friday of August. Fortunately, they did welcome the
four of us- Andrea, Emma, Enni and I for what was about to be a stunning
experience.
About half an hour after leaving the harbour, we encountered a group of
approximately 30 striped dolphins. Unlike the calm bottlenose dolphins that we
sighted the day before from the zodiac, the striped dolphins were so playful, they
were jumping all around and racing with the boat. They made everyone on board
stand up and cheer.
As we kept sailing offshore and left the dolphins, Franco, the captain of the Corsara,
spotted a blow from far away, and we were starting to head towards it. The sea
condition on that day was very good what allowed us to spot the next blows without
binoculars and identified the unique blow of a sperm whale!
Approaching the sperm whale I was mind blown by its beauty. The elegance of such a
large animal is amazing and the complete silence on the boat indicates that.
When the whale showed his fluke, we knew he was about to dive for up to 40
minutes. We waited until he surfaced again and then left him in order not to disturb
him.
Keeping on the sail we sighted two more different sperm whales; I could not
believe my luck, it was a day I will not forget.
