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Whale Watching - Paleohora Dolphins as depicted on Minoan frescoes at Knossos have long been associated with Crete and are often spotted by ferry passengers on the south coast routes from Paleohora to Sougia and Agia Roumeli. Occasional sightings of whales have also been reported and a few years ago The Institute of Cetacean Research in Athens funded a small research programme based in Paleohora to study the local whale population. The Institute chartered and equipped a local fishing boat under the captaincy of Stelios Yialinakis and to help fund the programme, guest researchers were invited to take part. Subsequently, the daily whale watching trips, although little publicised, proved to be enormously popular and often over subscribed! Early results indicated that there are both Sperm and Ziphius Whales present in this area of the Libyan Sea and although numbers appear to be relatively small, the use of hydrophonic equipment has enabled researchers to listen to their call signals and help identify the different species and family groups. Although the research and funding has now finished, it captured the imagination of Stelios Yialinakis and he now arranges half-day Dolphin spotting trips from early April to the end of October at a cost of 16 € per person. In the natural world of course nothing’s ever guaranteed and although Stelios as a result of the earlier research is better placed than most to find the right spots, you might spend four hours and see absolutely zero. On the other hand you could be lucky and see a whole school of dolphins, or even spot a whale! It’s all part and parcel of the mystery and fascination of the world’s largest living mammals and their smaller, ultra intelligent cousins!
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Freelance Holidays Ltd, Falstaff House, Birmingham Road, Stratford Upon Avon, Warwickshire, CV37 0AA. Tel: +44 (0)845 094 8871 Fax: +44 (0)845 094 8872 Email: info@freelance-holidays.co.uk | |||||||||||||
