Azores : Strong winds

Update from our marine conservation volunteering holiday in the Azores archipelago, working on whales, dolphins and turtles

My flight to Horta on Sunday was cancelled due to bad weather. An unplanned extra day in Lisbon followed and some rapid replanning of the expedition preparation began. Huge thanks to Lisa for stepping in and help organise what she could in my absence – though there is limit to what you can do from a laptop in Lisbon. The good news is I have finally arrived in the Azores, albeit much later than expected. No real harm done, but the next day or so will be busy getting everything back on track. But this is an expedition, so it is great to have a plan, but as important is a willingness to change it and adapt.

The good news is our hosts at Monte Da Guia (Silvia and Mario), Lenita (our housekeeper) and Lisa have been preparing the expedition base for group 1’s imminent arrival, and I will continue this evening.

We now just hope that the weather and whales (and other target species!) are on our side and we can look forward to some great fieldwork (and data collection) over the next few days.

So safe (and hopefully uninterrupted) travels to those of you on group 1 still en route and we look forward to meeting you all on Tuesday morning.

Update from our marine conservation volunteering holiday in the Azores archipelago, working on whales, dolphins and turtles