A two part story this time...one from Angie´s perspective and one from Darren´s...
Ladies first:
Abrolhos Marine park is 80km off the coast of Brazil and consists of 5 islands, coral reefs and whale breeding grounds. As the whale season seems to be one of the few things that we have come to Brazil at the right time of year for, we decided to make the full day´s bus journey down the coast to Caravelas - the jumping off point for the marine park.
We met a Brazilian couple in the hostel, Marcelo and Erica, and they needed some more people to make a trip out to the islands possible. The boat was a lovely old Schooner (none of that modern gin palace rubbish!) and our cabin mates seemed very nice so, although we were rather rushed in the decision, and it became clear that we were expected to get up for breakfast at 5.30am, we booked the trip with them. The next morning, Walter also appeared on the scene - an old german guy who was coming along with us - although his jokes and very german way of looking at things were a little off-putting at first he actually turned out to be a really cool guy - having motorbiked his way around huge sections of the world (this was his Caracas to Buenos Aires stretch).
The 3 hour boat trip out to the islands was much rougher than expected - we were in strong winds and even I had to admit that Darren was right and the sides of the boat were rather to close to the water for comfort. We all felt pretty queasy (even the crew were taking sea-sickness tablets) and seeing whales was not top of the priority list. The captain had decided to get us as quicky as possible to Abrolhos and when we finally arrived (moored between two of the islands so thankfully slightly calmer water) the sky was grey and angry and the rain was coming down in sheets. Not quite what we´d expected.
It soon became clear that snorkelling was the afternoon´s activity and this made both Darren and I a little worried. It was choppy and not very inviting looking and we had to get straight off the boat into deep water. But we´d hired wetsuits so decided to give it a go. Getting into the wetsuits was a job and a half. At first we both managed to put our suits on back to front and inside out, much to the amusement of the crew and I had 3 men at one point helping me get back out of it!
The water actually wasn´t that cold but the wind was strong and as soon as we were in the water we could feel the current taking us away from the boat. All a bit scary. But when I finally managed to work out how to use flippers and got myself over to some coral it was all worth it - I saw about a dozen types of beautifully coloured fish, and to my delight, a big turtle, which I swam along with.
Sleeping on the boat was quite fun - all in bunk beds with the rocking of the boat to get me to sleep.
The next day we got up at sunrise and watched Walter go for his early morning swim while we ate breakfast. It was a much sunnier day and the islands looked quite beautiful - if rather windswept and barren. Our activity in the morning was to go onto the one island where visitors are allowed and see the funny looking and sounding sea birds that nest there and are found exclusively in this coastal region of Brazil. They sit in pairs of mother and baby and the babies and covered in white fluff with a rather bemused expression on there faces! Very cute. They seem quite comfortable with humans walking around their nests but squawk loudly if you get too close.
After a bit more snorkelling (when I saw an angel fish) and lunch it was finally time to do a bit of whale watching. But the boat had a flat battery! After an hour or so of sitting around Darren and I got a lift back on a big catamaran full of divers. We saw a lot of whales in the distance - the spouts of water when they come up to breath and the glimpse of a tail or back - but only one sighting quite close up. It was a mother and baby who both semi-jumped out of the water together, 50 metres or so from us. It was lovely to see them, but it left me wanting more, and it was hard to listen to the people on the new boat telling us about the good luck they´d have 2 days before when they saw dozens of whales near the boat. 2000 whales are meant to come to the area to breed and the boats basically go through a whale motorway on the way back to land, but it wasn´t to be our lucky day.
We arrived back on dry land just in time for our bus connection to Rio, but it was a close one.
Now the events from Darren´s point of view (suffice to say, he didn´t find his sea legs):
AAh Whales, don´tcha just love ´em?. We all love whales so the chance to see them close up was a treat. All the tourist agencies had told us that there were over 2,000 of the blighters practically fighting to get in your camera shot. We were informed that a two day trip was the best way to ensure seeing some. So after a gruelling trip to the port the hostel rep did a rather hard sell on us. He showed us pictures of whales, videos of whales, even pumping out whale songs on the computor while Marcelo translated the trip details. It was only when the picture of the rickety boat (i´d imagined a modern Gin Palace type of affair) we were to spend two days on came up on screen that i had my first twinge of doubt. But Angie had her heart set on seeing whales, as i did, and it seemed to be the best option at that point in time. I did warn Angie that I thought we would be sleeping in bunk beds below decks, not in the seperate cabins she romantically ascribed to the schooner. But i was all prepared to have an adventure at sea.
The first seeds of doom were planted when after half an hour on the boat the second mate started to get some pills out, he smiled at me as he made motions that i worked out meant that he was taking sea sickness tablets and then kindly pointed out where the life jackets were. Oh dear, I thought. Still they look like they know what they are doing, best not dwell on the negative...however the first seed of doubt started to bear fruit when an hour after leaving port the wind had truly picked up and the boat was lurching up and down and side to side, the waves barely 1 foot from the boat edge and lapping over as if to grab our ankles and pull us into it´s watery maw (Marcelo informed me that the scale of wind went from 0, lovely and calm to a 10, very bad indeed. I said what are we now? expecting him to say 4-5..oh about a 7 i´d say, he calmly replied). I decided to go below and then held onto the bed for the next two hours feeling like i was in some kinda twisted funfair ride, every wave bashing against the hull sounded like Death himself knocking at the door. Thankfully the Good Lord made me immune to sea sickness.
Finally we arrived at the islands and it was decided that we would go snorkelling - despite the fact that the winds had not dropped - we´ve hired wetsuits so might as well make use of them, just think of all the lovely whales we´re gonna see, i kept reminding myself. We dropped into the sea (at this point i should say that being in water where i can´t touch the bottom makes me very unsettled at the best of times) and it was only then that i discovered i had absolutley no idea how to use the darned flippers. I flapped and flipped about desperatley - thankfully being kept afloat by the wetsuit - all the while being pulled this way and that by twin forces of wind and currents. Angie was some way ahead of me but there was no way i could make it over to where she was, even if there were turtles, pretty fish and coral aplenty. I decided to get back to the boat ASAP. I put my head down and started to swim but every time i resurfaced the boat seemed to have moved! Water way to go, i thought to myself. But the thought of dying without finishing the journal spurred me on. I eventually reached the boat, under the watchful eye of the captain and i returned his thumbs up weakly while spitting out mouthfuls of seawater and clambered aboard. Now my thoughts turned to Angie. She´s only a frail thing and now i could see her some 75 metres away, i thought there´s no way she´s gonna make it back. She looked over to the boat and waved at me (it was only then that i figured we ought to have agreed some kind of international distress signal should the need arise) Oh my god i thought, she´s drowning, I was just about to grab the captain and get him to save her (no point in both of us ending in a watery grave i thought) when I realised it was a cheery wave and she was fine. However the next 30 minutes were the longest of my life as I watched her from the boat, each time her head went under i thought she was a goner, eventually she statrted to swim back to the boat and those last 10 metres I saw her little face poking out of the wetsuit as she struggled against the current will remain etched on my memory for ever.
Not a great start i´m sure you´ll agree. The sleepless night was spent with me feeling like i was in a large wooden coffin being transported to the netherworld. Only the thought of the whales kept me going. The next day we went over the to island, 7 of us in a metal tray that resembled a dinghy, the engine kept stalling on the way over, but we made it, just. Then back to the boat and lets go and see some whales me mateys, they must wonder where we are by now. The captain started the engine, nothing, tried again, nothing. The battery was flat as a pancake. I had visions of us being stranded there for days AND we had a bus to catch 5 hours hence! Fortunatley we were saved by a rather nifty catameran and managed to get the bus with seconds to spare. I´m a whale watcher, get me out of here!
Photos coming from a disposable camera when we get them processed...
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