Pico
The inaugural voyage of the Azores—what an incredible time to be on board Endeavour! For just about all on board, staff and guests alike, every day is a new experience. The energy level is at a peak onboard, as all await each day eagerly, wondering what each new island will bring. The guests on Endeavour are not the only ones who are enthusiastic for each landing, on almost every island we are greeted on the dock by many of the locals, eager to get a peek at what are sometimes the islands first cruise ship visitors.
The Azores are stunning. Molded by volcanic activity, they are a combination of lush green terraced pastures and black lava walls, rising up, up, and up terminating in an ancient crater, often enclosing deep, olive colored lagoons. The landscape of the islands is dramatic indeed, but so is the world under the sea’s surface. Endeavour’s undersea specialist, Dennis Cornejo and myself as dive buddy, take as many opportunities as possible to explore this brand new area, and bring back vivid pictures for the guests to enjoy. Many books will say that diving in the Azores is like the Mediterranean, but due to the volcanic activity and topography, it is quite different. The sides of the islands slope ever downwards, often going from 2000ft to 100ft in just a mile. When diving, we never start more than 50 ft from shore, dropping into the deep blue, where the bottom is visible in 50 ft of water. The decent is ripe with anticipation to see what might be lurking amongst the gigantic boulders that have been cast here by the volcano. Over and between we swim, peeking deep into cracks, and under ledges. It is here that we find some of the most reclusive, yet most interesting creatures.
Pictured here is the Yellow Spotted Moray Eel. It is found quite commonly in the Azores. This eel is usually seen with only the head exposed, but has been seen feeding in open waters. They feed on a variety of invertebrates, as well as some fish. They rely mainly on their sense of smell, as they have poor vision. Don’t let the open mouth fool you into thinking it is ferocious, this species is relatively non-aggressive. They have their gill openings behind their head, and this is a way for them to breathe.
When talking about diving in the Azores, one cannot forget the wrasses, which are bountiful here. The largest fish pictured here is the supermale of the rainbow wrasse. What makes it ‘super’? It used to be a female. Many wrasses change sex and color as they age. Also pictured are the smaller female Turkish wrasses. This group was having a feeding frenzy on the algae covered rocks.
And yet again, another fantastic day ends on Endeavour. We all wait with great anticipation of what tomorrow will bring.
The inaugural voyage of the Azores—what an incredible time to be on board Endeavour! For just about all on board, staff and guests alike, every day is a new experience. The energy level is at a peak onboard, as all await each day eagerly, wondering what each new island will bring. The guests on Endeavour are not the only ones who are enthusiastic for each landing, on almost every island we are greeted on the dock by many of the locals, eager to get a peek at what are sometimes the islands first cruise ship visitors.
The Azores are stunning. Molded by volcanic activity, they are a combination of lush green terraced pastures and black lava walls, rising up, up, and up terminating in an ancient crater, often enclosing deep, olive colored lagoons. The landscape of the islands is dramatic indeed, but so is the world under the sea’s surface. Endeavour’s undersea specialist, Dennis Cornejo and myself as dive buddy, take as many opportunities as possible to explore this brand new area, and bring back vivid pictures for the guests to enjoy. Many books will say that diving in the Azores is like the Mediterranean, but due to the volcanic activity and topography, it is quite different. The sides of the islands slope ever downwards, often going from 2000ft to 100ft in just a mile. When diving, we never start more than 50 ft from shore, dropping into the deep blue, where the bottom is visible in 50 ft of water. The decent is ripe with anticipation to see what might be lurking amongst the gigantic boulders that have been cast here by the volcano. Over and between we swim, peeking deep into cracks, and under ledges. It is here that we find some of the most reclusive, yet most interesting creatures.
Pictured here is the Yellow Spotted Moray Eel. It is found quite commonly in the Azores. This eel is usually seen with only the head exposed, but has been seen feeding in open waters. They feed on a variety of invertebrates, as well as some fish. They rely mainly on their sense of smell, as they have poor vision. Don’t let the open mouth fool you into thinking it is ferocious, this species is relatively non-aggressive. They have their gill openings behind their head, and this is a way for them to breathe.
When talking about diving in the Azores, one cannot forget the wrasses, which are bountiful here. The largest fish pictured here is the supermale of the rainbow wrasse. What makes it ‘super’? It used to be a female. Many wrasses change sex and color as they age. Also pictured are the smaller female Turkish wrasses. This group was having a feeding frenzy on the algae covered rocks.
And yet again, another fantastic day ends on Endeavour. We all wait with great anticipation of what tomorrow will bring.
