Seeing whales has been on my bucketlist for quite some time now. Thus….what better Christmas gift for myself than chartering a boat and going out to see the Tenerife whales and dolphins? I’m so anxious to see them, I just hope that I won’t get seasick. The boss of the Tenerife sailing charters (https://tenerifesailingcharters.com) is so nice and comes to pick us up at the hotel in his car. He has some bad news and some good news for us… The sailboat that I booked has some technical problems, but we will get upgraded to a motor yacht with only 5 people total…. So…all good…
For some reason, I often associated whale watching with far away destinations or long ocean voyages. But I read that it’s perfectly possible to go whale watching in Tenerife.
Our captain’s sun-worn face lights up as he grabs my shoulder and points into the distance. Three of them are underwater now,” he says as I scour the shades of blue. “One baby and two adultos… and further behind them I can see two more.”
It’s certainly not the first time Pedro has hunted whales, but you wouldn’t know if you look at him. Despite a seafaring tradition of more than three generations plus hauling tourists along the waves every day, he still wears that expression of childlike wonder. He’s right, of course, and I stare, mesmerized as sleek-skinned pilot whales rise out of the water. At first glance, they look like giant dolphins, with their glistening dorsal fins, curved leaps and semi-wicked glints in their eyes. Water falls off them like diamonds, yet their chunky body shape suggests that someone got their proportions wrong.
It’s only when we find a school of dolphins 15 minutes later that the difference becomes clear. So…what is the difference between pilot whales and dolphins? Dolphins are sprightlier, bouncier, faster. They are also much, much smaller.Pilot Whales, I learn, are 6 metres long at birth and can grow to weigh 3 tons. In a happy change from many whale-related stories, they are not critically endangered, nor even under threat.
I also learned that the family tradition of Tenerife fisherman is endangered. A lot of people on the island have family who practiced line-caught tuna fishing, a dolphin-friendly but backbreaking method of heaving the hulk of a tuna fish onto a small boat by means of a single line. Days started at four in the morning and drove on until eight at night for all but two months of the year. Now that tradition has gone. Because of contamination, trawler nets and competition from China…
But we all have to adapt to that fast and ever changing path of life. I for one am so happy that I was able to see these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat and share this beautiful moment with my 81-year old mum. Memories that will last a lifetime. I just happen to love those early Christmas presents!
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