In late November I was offered the chance to work in
Tenerife for six months on a cetacean project. I’m shocked that I have already
been here six weeks out of my six months! They say time flies when you’re
having fun, so I must be enjoying myself!
Form
a personal career development perspective I’ve already learnt a lot, and gained
fantastic experience, even in these few weeks on the project. Blessed with
consistently good weather I’ve been lucky to get out on the whale watching boats
regularly and to observe five different species of whales and dolphins,
sometimes seeing three different species in one trip! I’ve seen bottlenose and
common dolphins in other countries before but Atlantic spotted dolphin, Bryde’s
whale, and short-finned pilot whale are all new species for me, and it is a
great privilege to see these fascinating animals in the wild on such a regular
basis. Of course the pilot whales are really the stars of the show here, and
collecting behavioural observations during encounters with these animals is
giving me a great chance to get to know more about another cetacean species.
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| Atlantic spotted dolphin |
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| Bryde's whale |
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| Short-finned pilot whale |
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| Pilot whale close to the boat |
I’m only just scratching the surface of what this beautiful
island has to offer beyond the ocean. There is so much more to see and
appreciate beyond the heavy tourism around the south. I enjoyed the novelty of
Christmas day on the beach, but escaped the crowds on Boxing day to ‘enjoy’ a
five hour hike up to the top of the cable car on Teide. The volcanic landscape
there is beautiful, in its own rocky bleakness, and allows great views across
the island, well worth the effort… but while it may be 22 C on the beach, up
there it’s cold!
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| View from the cable car |
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| Huevos del Teide |
Before Christmas I had the chance to experience some of the
stunning green mountains of Anaga in the very north of the island where you
can’t escape the amazing views on a walk through the area. So I’ve packed a lot
in so far and I’m really looking forward to exploring even more, and of course
encountering more cetaceans, there are a few more species still on my ‘to see’
list...
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| Rogue Taborno |
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| Beautiful Anaga region |
