Ihr professioneller Mediaservice
Art Visuell
info@artvisuell.de
Lattenkamp 88
22299 Hamburg
Phone: +49 40 365096
Fax: +49 40 70705200
2019
Azores High Pressure Area
The Weather Forecast: “for the upcoming days we expect an Azores high pressure area that brings mild, Atlantic air masses to Europe”. Anyone who wants to get to the bottom of the origin of these high-pressure areas can do so in just two hours by plane ride from Lisbon. And who has not yet known that you can see big fish in Europe, may be surprised in the Azores. Just like us.
As a starting point of our trip, we decided on a live-a-board with the “Saildive” Catamaran to get to Princess Alice Banks. A 5 to 6 hour sail from Horta is needed depending on the speed of the ship. It is possible to enjoy the place exclusively for yourself on an overnight stay via the live-a-board cruise.
At first we looked at the beautiful scenery on land. This is best done with the rental car in order to get to less popular places. Wild nature conquers the legacies of the people, characterizes the image of the island. Churches and lighthouses destroyed by earthquakes are just one example. What shapes the island is the „Caldeira“ of the volcano. The Azores islands are all of volcanic origin and still active up to present times. These can sometime extend the island as what happened in 1957 when the “Vulcano dos Capalinhos” began to emerge. A small offshore island emerged in the northwest of the island of Faial and eventually connected with the main island and now forms a breading ground for many seabirds. One should not miss to visit the old lighthouse in front of the sunken volcano. When the sun sets behind the “Vulcano dos Capalinhos”, it becomes a mystical place. Hardly any lights of civilization, the open sea, seabirds let you dream into the distance.
The island is fascinating but after a few days of exploring, we are happy to finally board the Saildive Catamaran and explore the sea. After the obligatory check dive, you quickly become aware of the water temperatures that Azores is not a tropical diving area. On board, we were delighted to enjoy the culinary skills of Rita for the first time. Rita is the onboard cook and was branded as “Calorita” for her sumptuous food prepared. All the calories taken were burned abundantly when diving at 19 degrees with a 7mm dive suit. Also, despite, the brand new and state-of-the-art ship, things were not going all well with equipment and crew. The ship just looked like it had just left the shipyard. Good things sometimes take a little while.
We were all the more fascinated by how light-handed Paulo sailed the Catamaran around the rocks off Pico’s coast. From time to time Sam and Marianna had to help him out, but in principle the high-tech catamaran can almost be sailed alone. Sailing is fun, especially seeing the wild, mesmerizing coastline of the Azores. No engine noise, no stench from the marine diesel, wonderful. Wind, waves, matching music, we experienced not only the first day, but always unforgettable moments. So it was often a dichotomy, because the best diving destinations can only be approached if it has only a little bit of wind and waves. But then the ship can’t sail and has to use the engine to reach the dive spot. But how do you say so beautiful in the Azores: “if you do not like the weather, wait twenty minutes”. This does not always make it easy to plan, but at least provides the photographers with fascinating moods due to the light and cloud game.
The dive sites of the Azores are characterized by the varied underwater landscapes, mostly of course of volcanic origin. Caves, columns or blocks that can be penetrated through underwater arches. Not to mention the “Shrimp Cave”, whose feeble inhabitants are difficult to photograph and the “Urseling Cave”, whose light play reminds a bit of Mexican cenotes. Of course, colorful corals are missing, as they are known from the tropics. But it’s a bit more exotic than in the Mediterranean. The small eagle rays, which are found just around the corner of the port of Horta, are less common in the Mediterranean. But after the “Hailight” („Hai“ means shark in German language) of the Azores you have to search vigorously. Those who did not think about it before and thought that blue sharks would just swim around in every major dive spot, had to learn something better. Blue sharks live and hunt in greater depth, the blue shark dives to 350m. To see the sharks on the surface, you have to attract him as what Paulo did with a lot of effort. Baits were laid out (tuna heads) or “chum” added to the water, a paste of fish leftovers (heads, tails, blood and bones). Even rolling an empty plastic bottle on the bottom of the boat should help to attract the animals. Paulo tried everything with moderate success. We had no hope of seeing Blue Sharks anymore when we started the dive at the Princess Alice Banks. But Paulo tried again his luck. When everyone was already in the water and submerged, the blue shark was suddenly there. Another blueshark also appeared behind the ship in the current, lured by the fish baits. Even a Manta joined, and “fluttered” calmly in the current in front of my camera, in perfect shooting position. Because I was the underwater photographer and group tour guide, I always had to be in the water last, leaving the other to take precedence. Here, it was my luck.
Unfortunately, one has to admit that the over-fishing of sharks in the Azores has progressed so far that it is really an exception to see these animals! So we were all the happier to be able to experience these animals.
In addition, there were still mantas at the Princess Alice Banks, what a blessing! Fortunately, the weather allowed the Saildive ship to stay overnight at the Princess Alice Banks reef. Something that most other ships in this destination simply can’t. And so we experienced a starry night there, anchoring directly on the reef. The dives on the reef itself were interesting, there was a huge, local stingray to admire. The highlights, however, were clearly played out in the blue water when the mantas were circling the reef or the boat. And the more the day drew to a close, the more dense they came to the surface, to finally break the surface of the water with their fin tips. Those who went snorkeling now, could get very close to them.
Everyone else enjoyed the sunset with a glass of wine and one of Rita’s delicious dinners. The starry night finally let the tension of the last days fall, which was filled after the “hunt” for big fish. That is exactly why we came to the Azores. The return trip to Horta felt almost like the end of the journey, but no, there was a lot more to come! Now we where able to really enjoy the upcoming dives without having the pressure to see the blue sharks anymore. And so we were overexcited when Paulo offered us to watch for sperm whales instead of further dives. Before the trip it was unclear whether it is allowed or not to dive with these gentle giants. But Paulo updated us, that to dive with sperm whales, a special permit is required. But even seeing these animals from the boat is an experience, one that is not so easy to bring about. Because unlike humpback whale, sperm whales are much harder to find. First, they dive much longer and deeper, up to 1000m, to hunt for their favorite prey, squid. They also stay longer on the surface after such long dives to breathe and to re-oxygenate their blood, but are still harder to detect. Because their ‘blow’ is not as high as the ones from the humpback whales and also rather laterally and not directed upwards, a good camouflage. Paulo still found two whale pods for us to follow for a while. He was assisted by his good network of friends and colleagues informing each other about sightings. Even dolphins hunted that day in front of the boat and jumped before the shallow bow wave of the Saildive boat back and forth in crystal clear water. On that day, we were able to dive in the morning, sight and photograph sperm whales and dolphins in the afternoon, and enjoyed an impressive sailing tour along the coast of São Jorge in the evening. What does the diving adventurer’s heart want more? When we anchored in front of São Jorge and listened to the shrill sounds of the seabirds, at least I could not fall asleep not only because of the seabirds but of the many beautiful impressions.
On the last day, several large groups of dolphins near the Saildive passed by in savage hunts, our hearts were enthralled because of so many beautiful experiences.
And so remains less the impressions of individual dives, but rather a total experience of diving, great landscapes, wild sailing tours and unforgettable sightings of wildlife in general. This accompanies you everywhere and constantly, and be it “only” the seabirds that circle the boat or ascend when the Saildive approaches them. It was hard to say goodbye after this unforgettable week, but fortunately Azores is not too far away. As wild as they are, they are and will remain a part of Europe. And if the weather forecast announces an Azores high pressure area is coming to Europe, you suddenly think very different about it and wonder why it really says nothing about the real character of the Azores, to be wild and beautiful!