One of the highlights (and there were many!) of my boat trips with Futurismo on the island of Sao Miguel in the Azores was the sighting of Atlantic Spotted Dolphins. These charismatic cetaceans were seen on nearly all my boat trips. They were a species that I really wanted to see as I had not seen them before; and what a treat they were, bow-riding, leaping, breaching, diving and throwing themselves around with reckless abandon. And on one memorable occasion a large pod of "spotties" swam at great speed, porpoising in a long line adjacent to the catamaran that was itself motoring at a rate of knots.
This species only appears in the waters around the Azores in the summer months when the sea-temperature is high enough for them. The younger animals are plain grey and become more spotty as they mature. Om some of the photos grey calves can be seen swimming with, presumably, a darker, more spotted parent animal.
These playful, engaging dolphins are one of the reasons that I fully intend to return to the Azores.
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