Ok … so weird as it is, I have never been to the Caribbean as I have never really felt the urge… However my 16 day, 10 flight bonanza has now arrived and I am boarding the plane for Antigua. Not my final destination, but just a stop-over on the way to Dominica (note; not Dominican Republic…Dominica!). Antigua, I have to say, is not a bad first taste of the Caribbean. A smart new airport, easy immigration and smiling faces all round makes this an easy place to warm to.

A short drive brings me to my overnight stop, the aptly named Tradewinds Hotel with views out over the bay. My taxi driver, Kiesha – whose preferred saying is a thickly accented ‘Boderaaaaaation ‘dem peeeeple!’ (Boderation comes from the word bother) – leaves me to relax and promises to be there at 0530hrs the next morning to transfer me back to the airport for my next flight. I settle in and then set off down the hill to explore. A 20 minute walk brings me to the local beach with pristine white sand and sunset views. Making my way back to my hotel, I sit on the terrace overlooking the bay enjoying my first Caribbean beer. 

0445hrs I wake and get myself ready. Keisha’s cab is there and we wind our way back to the airport. Swift check-in and a quick wander round the shops and I am ready to leave Antigua behind for the Nature Isle of Dominica. My flight is with LIAT Air – apparently an acronym for “Luggage in Another Terminal” – which progresses smoothly as we have a short 30min hop down to the isle of Dominica. A crazy hour or so drive across the thickly vegetated mountains, steep valleys and rushing rivers of this Nature Isle brings me to the capital of Rouseau and my cosy lodging for the next five days, Castle Comfort Lodge. Located directly on the seafront, there is probably no better base for the focus of this trip, swimming with the sperm whales of Dominica. 

As it happens, our expert guide and boat have not left yet for the day so I get the chance to dump my bags and join my sperm whale compatriots as we jump aboard and set out to sea. Whilst this is an extremely unique trip, within an hour or so we have our first success! With pairs of eyes scanning from every corner of our catamaran, we soon spot the water spouting into the air from the blow holes of these docile creatures. This is not the last however, as throughout the day even though we have unusually rough seas, I lose count of how many sperm whales we encounter. Clients are in and out of the water subtly as we place the boat carefully in order not to disturb the whales, but to give people the chance to swim alongside them. Some clients are here for just the sheer pleasure of swimming with them, some for the best photographs possible, and some (me!), to see how it all works! The day is a success. Whilst I was unlucky on this occasion not to swim with any, my time will come, and I conclude what can only be said is a very successful first day of swimming with sperm whales.

So, not the earliest of starts when you go looking for sperm whales…

By 0930hrs we are all boarded (usually a maximum of four clients due to the specialised nature of the trip) and set out to sea again. Today we are in luck as it has been raining non stop overnight and as we pull away from shore, the rain eases, the skies clear and the waters appear calm. Slightly different to yesterday when there was 10ft swell which made embarking and disembarking fairly tricky let alone trying to get close to a 50ft long sperm whale!!!

Sailing north, we are soon to be rewarded (not even using the rather makeshift sonar kit) as we come across our first sperm whales. Calmly our first two observers enter the water and settle themselves as this giant of the seas drifts past them disappearing into the endless blue with an effortless flick of the tail. That is not even the best encounter though; the day gets better and better. Throughout the course of the day we encounter a variety of couples, individuals, mothers with calves and more. Some of them play, some are inquisitive moving to within metres of where we float and others dive down to the depths in search of their favourite food - sea squid. Most of my day is spent observing as clients swap in and out of the water, but this doesn’t make it any less interesting. One sperm whale even decides to put on a show for us boatside moving to within a few metres of our catamaran and doing a vertical twirl with a rather flamboyant twist of the tail as she loops down under our boat and pops up on the other side.

Personalities including Can Opener (with the utility-like notched tail), Digit (with the small piece of rope stuck around her tail - researchers are using our pictures to assist in how to remove this potentially life threatening debris), or Fingers ...

Sperm whales done for the day, we return to shore and following dinner set off to the local hot sulphur springs. Set up in the hills, we have a short winding drive to what is known as ‘Screws Spa’ made by a local Rasta who has managed to build and sculpt his own sulphur baths down a narrow gorge. An amazing set up; we strip back down to our swimmers and dip ourselves into the series of pools starting from the coolest at the bottom and slowly working our way up to the hottest at the top which must be in the region of 40 degrees C. As we soak up the sulphur and relax in the natural springs, we listen to reggae music bouncing off the gorge walls and my mind wonders to how Can Opener and co. wind down after their day of watching humans…