Paradise of land and sea in Madeira

Dec 5 2008 By Gill Martin

Gill Martin enjoys adventure and the heritage of Madeira.

A pair of spotted dolphins crested the inky blue smoothness of the Atlantic Ocean off the craggy coastline of Madeira.

Their sleek, mottled skin glistened in the early-morning sunshine as they rode the swell, powering through the water, leaping and arcing beside our bobbing rubber dinghy.

The signal came from Rita, our marine biologist guide, to put on the mask and snorkel, then slip noiselessly into the cool water. Easier said then done. Two other snorkellers on our Swim with the Dolphins mission were making a dog’s dinner of the exercise, splashing and spluttering, heads above the water rather than looking down into the 1,000-metre depths. Yes, 1,000 metres.

Madeira is the tip of an underwater volcanic island so there is no continental shelf. Its’ coast sinks vertically and dramatically into the Atlantic, which accounts for the wealth of big sea life that can swim without fear of being beached on a shallow shore. Five kilometres from the coast, the ocean floor plunges to 3,000 metres.

On our marine adventure, we encountered massive sperm whales, magnificent creatures patrolling the deep, snoozing on the surface until their Sunday reverie was interrupted by the chug of a propeller engine.

With a huff and a puff, one immature but still hugely impressive whale thrashed its tailfin in disdain and descended to the depths, where it would stay for up to 75 minutes on one breath of its mega-lungs before needing to resurface. It was an iconic view and one I managed to capture with my digital camera.

Zoom in and it looks a close encounter of a terrifying kind.

These massive mammals deserve our respect. They have no predators, their sheer size and bulk are awesome, the head making up a third of their length and filled with oil. Up until the 1980s, they were hunted for that oil and their blubber. Now, the Portuguese preserve them, conservationists study them and Rita revels in showing them off, sharing their secrets and those of the dolphins and other sea creatures and birds.

‘Now we are playing hide and seek with the spotted dolphins,’ she said as I swam off in pursuit. The sun cast a brilliant turquoise swathe through the water, spotlighting the pair of dolphins still in my sights. Using just