Emma’s 21st birthday abroad!
On August 1st, I turned 21! As it was the first day of the month, I was anxiously waiting for the arrival of this month’s other interns, Maya and Enni, but I couldn’t spend all day waiting for them in the apartment!
Instead, I spent my 21st birthday doing something so incredibly awesome – on the Corsara, watching for bottlenose dolphins and other cetaceans.
I honestly can’t think of a better way to ring in another year than by spending it at sea, in the sun and the salt. The day was beautifully sunny and stubbornly hot but the breeze on the sea made the weather perfectly comfortable for spending the day outside.
If we had gone out and spotted absolutely nothing I would not have been upset at all. I mean, I would’ve spent my 21st birthday out at sea, looking for animals in their natural habitat!
However, despite the slow start to the excursion, the day did not disappoint in terms of spotting something.
After approximately 3 hours into our day, while I was surveying the area behind the boat, and Jessica and Franco were observing ahead of us, I heard a unified cry: “Soffio!”.
Speeding off towards the identified blow, I shifted my binoculars towards our heading, eagerly awaiting to see which species was waiting up ahead.
I was overjoyed when I spotted the blow and recognized the fact that my 21st birthday would be filled with memories of the first species I ever saw in the Pelagos sanctuary (and the species which is quickly becoming one of my favourite cetaceans) – a sperm whale.
Keeping track of the location of the individual was no problem with the beautiful conditions of the day. In no time we reached the individual.
No matter how many times I see this species, I always love watching how calm they appear while at the surface. We stayed with the individual for the remaining few minutes for which they were at the surface. I watched with amazement – as always – as they showed off their fluke while descending back to the submarine canyon below us.
There is no better gift in the world than witnessing a sperm whale up close and personal.
Needless to say, this birthday will always be one for the book – and the photo albums!
