Update from our marine conservation volunteering holiday in the Azores archipelago, working on whales, dolphins and turtles
Sometimes the hardest part of an expedition is starting, and this naturally means departing. Which isn’t always straightforward.
I was aiming to leave home on Friday 13th. That day, I woke up to a blanket of snow, followed by a power outage and then our first lifeboat call-out of the year on Loch Ness. First steps are not always easy!
Arrival and reacquaint
Fortunately, my journey was less eventful. After two days, three flights and four airports, I made to the Azores. Lisa (our scientist) also had a small surprise for me – we’d been offered spots on another boat ‘Risso’ that morning, courtesy of our friends at Azores Experiences.
So, a quick bag drop and straight to the harbour. Time to reacquaint myself with the mid-Atlantic and its inhabitants. I confirm that blue whales are here….
Base Preparation
For the remainder of Sunday and Monday, Silvia & Mario (our hosts), Lenita (our housekeeper) and Lisa and I have been preparing the expedition base for the imminent arrival of our first group. All is now ship-shape!
It has been great to re-orientate myself with Horta – things always change each year. Everything is now ready for the arrival of our first group of the 2026 expedition.
We now just hope that the weather and whales (and other target species!) have ‘read the briefings’ and we can look forward to some great fieldwork (and data collection) over the coming days and weeks.
So safe travels to those of you still en route, and we look forward to meeting you all on Tuesday morning (as per the details in the dossier, if you haven’t read it yet!).
Read also: First 2026 diary entry of the Azores whale and dolphin expedition
Author: Craig Turner
Craig Turner was born in Oxford, England. He studied biology, ecology and environmental management at Southampton, Aberdeen and London universities. After graduating from his first degree, he left the UK for expedition life in Tanzania. Since then, he has continued to combine his interest in volunteer travel and passion for conservation, working with a wide range of organisations on projects and expedition sites in the Americas, Africa, Asia and the Pacific. He has managed expedition programmes for the Zoological Society of London, and is a frequent contributor to the ‘Explore’ conference held by the Royal Geographical Society (RGS). He is a Fellow of the RGS and the Linnean Society. Having visited and/or worked in more countries than years have passed, he now runs a small environmental consultancy with his partner, based in Scotland, where he splits his wildlife interests and work between the UK and overseas. He also crews for the RNLI and is casualty care trained. He is ever keen to share his exploits, writing for several magazines, and is a published photographer.