Since I would be going away for the best part of two months at the end of the year, I decided to take Laura away somewhere nice to attempt to soften this blow. Since whale-watching had long been a topic of conversation, the eventual destination I decided upon was Madeira, since it has a wide variety of cetacean species, as well as stunning scenery and a very relaxed lifestyle. We had three nights on the island and made plans to do several whale-watching trips to maximise our chances of a Rorqual or equally large whale sighting.
Our flight from Paris landed us in Madeira at midday, and we had booked our first trip for 14:00 from Funchal that afternoon. To save costs on a hire car, our AirBnB was located just outside the city centre of Funchal, from where we could easily walk to several whale watching operators. Because it was already September and tourist season was slowing down, the motorboat trip I booked with Ventura do Mar was rearranged for the following morning, so I eventually arranged a catamaran tour with Magic Dolphin.
This was a less intimate experience, since the Catamaran was full with what I would estimate to be around 70 people, but it was still a good start to our trip as we managed to find a group of Short-finned Pilot Whales on this first afternoon. They showed very nicely from the boat, lingering around us rather than swimming off. These were the only cetaceans that we saw, but it was very enjoyable. The catamaran trip finished with a slow cruise back along the coastline, bringing us back late afternoon. In addition to the whales, it was great to be reacquainted with Corys Shearwater and Bulwers Petrel whilst on the catamaran, even if they were not the target of the trip.
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