07 September 2008

Kalamos, July, 31st - August, 6th


I would like to thank all the people who made “Premio di Laurea Rossana Majorca” possible, thanks to which I could participate to this wonderful experience with Tethys. In few days I saw bottlenose dolphins doing acrobatic jumps out of the water and coming to have a look at our boat, then a big group of common dolphins moving fast to the coast and then rest for a while… and they were so close to us... I had never seen dolphins in the wild so close before! It was fantastic! We saw also several newborns trying to swim as adults, and jumping as well, they were really cute! It was very exciting helping the researchers to collect data during the sighting, everybody tried to make its best, I took also some underwater videos from the boat and I hope they could be useful for the dolphins identification! I had really good time during this week, the place where we stayed was awesome, the sea here is fantastic, the weather was fine and the group was really amazing!! ;-) I thanks a lot Annalise, Susie and Silvia of Tethys that are carrying on the project with extreme passion and they were professional as well as very nice with all of us! I suggest to everybody who loves the sea and its creatures to try this experience!

Jessika, Italy

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Questo posto è indescrivibile, il panorama è fantastico, l’acqua è cristallina ma soprattutto... in cinque giorni abbiamo sempre visto i delfini, siamo stati il gruppo più fortunato di questa estate... ‘the luckiest girls’. Già dal primo giorno siamo riuscite a fare due avvistamenti: qui nel canale tra Episkopi e Mytikas, e poi ad Amvrakikos, quindi, nonostante la sveglia all’alba, ne è valsa veramente la pena! Dopo tre giorni di avvistamenti di tursiopi, un gruppo di una ventina di delfini comuni ci ha regalato grandi emozioni! Vi ringraziamo di averci dato l’opportunità di fare questa esperienza, per averci insegnato un po’ di inglese e i nomi di tutti i delfini avvistati. Non dimentichero’ mai la mitica ‘jelly fish’ e la prima volta abbiamo visto un pesce volante! Davvero tutto ‘very exciting’!

Ilaria and Arianna, Italy

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This conservation holiday was truly an incredible experience. Observing wild dolphins in their natural environment was amazing – so much better than I could have ever imagined. Not only was I able to observe the dolphins’ behaviour, but also, thanks to the Tethys’ researchers, I was able to understand what it might mean too. It was a great privilege to be allowed to help Tethys with their research. Collecting data enabled me to learn so much about dolphins, and only increased my admiration for these beautiful and intelligent creatures. My group was particularly lucky, because we got to see common dolphins as well as bottlenose dolphins. I saw first-hand bottlenose dolphins glide effortlessly beside our boat only to then leap spectacularly in the air. And I got to see a group of common dolphins socialise with each other and race through the water. However, it was not just watching the dolphins that made this trip unforgettable. There was also the added bonus of seeing other marine life too. I got to see massive tuna jumping into the air, flying fish skim the surface of the water, and big jellyfish float gracefully passed our boat. What topped off the whole experience for me was the fact that I got to see quite a few Greek islands. We were able to stop off for a quick break on these islands. The island on which we actually stayed is particularly stunning – a real undiscovered place of great beauty. What’s more it is great for snorkelling, and has some really scenic beaches. I would recommend this holiday to everyone, and would just like to take the opportunity to thank the Tethys’ researchers, Annalise, Susie and Silvia for teaching me so much and making this trip so special.

Rita, U.K./Italy

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