What people think about our programs

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Volunteer opinions about our program

Evelyn Borner

Below see a small video made by dolphin conservation volunteer Evelyn Borner in November 2010.

Carolyn Perkins (“Captain Perkins”)

This experience has to be one of the most memorable of my life ! Firstly I have no background in conservation or dolphins or marine-life in general, that didn’t matter. You learn all you need to learn as you go along. The opportunity to get close up with these beautiful creatures is fantastic and when you find yourself recognising the different dolphins, well, that just tops it off !

When I was with Stefan and the team, we worked firstly out of the Port of Pucusana and then we headed down to Paracas for further research, both very different experiences. The landscapes of the coastline of Peru are stunning and I can’t think of a better way to see this part of the country.

In addition, Stefan’s enthusiasm for other wildlife, notably birds, was infectious – I’ll never forget the first time I found myself saying “oh look, an Inca Tern” and realising his influence had seeped through !

I would recommend this experience to anyone – Stefan, Aldo and Jose are a great bunch of guys – thanks for the experience guys !

Toni Balmer

Working on this Mundo Azul (Blue World) dolphin project has truly been an amazing experience. Every day has brought new adventures. Observing new dolphin pods, monitoring existing ones and tracking dolphins, are just a few of the things that you will be doing, that is a guarantee.

Getting up close and personal to these graceful, intelligent creatures is a memory, which I will hold dear to my heart, and will stay with me for life. Not to mention all the fantastic photographs of Penguins, Sea lions, Pelicans, Inca turns, Kelp gulls and band tailed gulls and many more bird varieties, that you will most certainly see.

Visiting Peru had never occurred to me before, however since coming, I have had such a wonderful time. This country is so diverse, from Inca trails to sand boarding to cloud forests with spectacular breathtaking views. Peru has something for everyone and of all ages.

If like myself your love is, dolphins, nature and the great outdoors, then this has been designed with you in mind. You will have a whale of a time !!

Nick Bonfield

To sum up my month here in Peru is virtually an impossible task; you really have to see it to believe it. Before coming here, I remember watching footage of dolphins and thinking how beautiful they were. Let me tell you, nothing can prepare you for seeing them in the flesh. They are such stunning, graceful creatures. Images of dolphins jumping out of waves and doing back flips, actions which I never believed to occur in reality, are certainly ones that will stay with me forever. To put it simply, seeing a dolphin rising out of the water is to me what winning the world cup is to a footballer: a simply unforgettable moment.

Whilst dolphins were the main ingredient in my stay, I genuinely believe the experience would not have been the same without the people I met: Always up for a laugh, cheering you up when you are missing friends and family, and just generally great to be around. Stefan Austermühle, the Executive Director and cofounder of Mundo Azul is a man worthy of much respect for his efforts in dolphin conservation, whilst at the same time giving off a friendly vibe and ensuring that your stay is as smooth and enjoyable as possible. I will certainly miss seeing the smile on Aldo’s face come rain or shine, his hospitality.

Aside from dolphin research, the weekends and locations are something to behold. Pucusana is a place with a great atmosphere, great people, great food, and beautiful scenery. Paracas is a quieter place, but what it lacks in atmosphere it certainly makes up for in beauty. The many different landscapes are stunning and trips to neighboring places such as Huacachina are readily available and well worth the minimal costs. So, whether it be in a discotheque in Lima or sand boarding in the Ica desert, every aspect of this trip has been incredible. Would I consider coming back here? Just give me that chance!

Jannicke

I have had a great couple of weeks on Mundo Azul’s dolphin project. Being out on the ocean with the dolphins is awesome! I have seen probable fifty or more dolphins –and taken 2-500 pictures -every day. I was excited every time we encountered a new group of dolphins, every time dolphins got close and swam under the bow of the boat, and every time we saw the head and an eye of a dolphin looking back at us, or a dolphin calf… -And it was not only dolphins to see, but also sea lions, penguins, pelicans and lots of other bird species (which Stefan, luckily, could point out and name for me).

It was also with excitement that I uploaded my pictures onto the computer to see what I had “captured” that day. Even the photo identification process was strangely addictive. Then, the next day, seeing the same dolphins that I could recognize from my pictures, either in the same bay, or seeing that they had moved since the day before, was interesting. Stefan, and Aldo, the “captain”, created a nice and laidback atmosphere and contributed to making my stay pleasant. All in all, I had a great time with Stefan, Aldo and the dolphins! Thank you!

Dan Johnson

A Dream come true
I flew 2 Peru 2 experience
And live life new,
Such a beautiful country
And lifestyle 2
Dolphins are plenty
In the deep blue sea,
This project will be, in mind eternally.
The friends I met are more like family,
Dear 2 me
And in my heart they’ll be.
Day after day,
moon after moon,
my loving friends, we’ll meet up soon.
Mundo Azul, I thank U 4,
4 weeks of a living dream.
U asked me 4 my point of view.
So here I dedicate this poem 2 U.

Expert opinions

Luke Ney

Senior Officer, Trade Capacity Building of the Humane Society International

The photo identification of the dolphins is a necessary and important part of protecting the various populations of dolphins along Peru’s coastline. While simple in theory—identifying individual animals by the unique shape, cuts and markings of the dorsal fin—the process of taking pictures is actually quite challenging. Prior to taking my first tour with Mundo Azul to see dolphins near Pucusana I had no idea how difficult it would be to take pictures of the animals, let alone quality photos that could be useful for identification purposes.

Of course, I was also overtaken by the thrill of seeing the dolphins so close to our boat—they were very relaxed and actually approached us as if they wanted to play. Yet, without knowing how many dolphins live along Peru’s coastline and the extent of their natural range, it will be difficult to ensure the long-term stability of their population, as well as the possibility for other people to enjoy their presence in the future.

After my dolphin watching experience I fully appreciate the motivation for learning more about these animals that individual researchers share, and I have a great deal of admiration for their effort to advance dolphin conservation in Peru.

Naomi A. Rose, Ph.D.

Marine Mammal Scientist – Humane Society International

Humane Society International (HSI) is working with Mundo Azul to promote responsible ecotourism in the marine environment, a relatively undeveloped area in the Peruvian tourism industry (which to date has focused more on the rainforest and on cultural sites such as Machu Picchu ). Illegal dolphin killing for meat still threatens Peruvian dolphins and the promotion of these charismatic animals as a source of tourism revenue will hopefully offer fishermen an economically viable alternative to killing them.

Mundo Azul is focusing its efforts primarily on the village of Pucusana (just south of Lima), where bottlenose dolphins are frequently sighted. The staff and volunteers are building a photo-identification catalog of these animals, which will prove invaluable in determining the size of this population, its distribution, and in establishing baselines for monitoring the impacts, if any, on these dolphins as tourism activities develop over the long term.

During a visit to Peru in April 2006, my HSI colleague, Luke Ney, and I participated in a series of workshops attended by local and federal authorities, fishermen, and tourism industry representatives, to discuss and consider approaches to the development of responsible marine-based ecotourism. These sessions took place in Lima , Trujillo , and Iquitos and were well-attended and productive and their results will form the basis for a national plan to develop responsible dolphin-watching in Peru .

As part of our activities while in Peru , we went to view the waters and coast off Pucusana. This area is spectacular, with guano islands filled with birds and sweeping vistas of the Peruvian desert coast – even without the dolphins, it would have been a satisfying day on the water. However, we were ultimately rewarded when we encountered a group of perhaps 40 dolphins as we were returning to port. These animals voluntarily approached our small inflatable craft, riding the bow and staying with us for 15 or 20 minutes. I am accustomed to Atlantic bottlenose dolphins – these Pacific animals were huge in comparison! It was amazing seeing them swimming right in front of the beaches just to the north of the harbor.

Clearly there is excellent potential for the development of successful dolphin watching in this area, from boats and perhaps even from land. The goal of HSI’s cooperation with Mundo Azul is to do so responsibly and with adequate controls to prevent negative impacts to the dolphins.

Visitors opinions about our programs

Ian Wood

freelance photographer and writer based in Sussex, England

My dolphin trip … incredible … We saw large numbers of dolphins, sea lions and a variety of bird life at very close quarters and our guide and scientist Stefan was extremely knowledgeable. It was a pleasure to spend time with someone who is so passionate about protecting this habitat and I wish you good luck with your future projects.

David Rousso

I did find my dolphin watching trip very enjoyable. I was very very pleased to see dolphins so close to the boat that I could almost touch one. They are such playful creatures that it was so exciting to interact with them.

I was particularly very impressed with Stefan Austermühles knowledge of the marine life and specially about the natural behavior of the dolphins. His passion for the marine life and dolphins was also very pleasing and makes him not only a great scientist but an amazing guide as well.

I think that anyone who shares this interest and cares about dolphins and marine life would greatly benefit from this. I would like to take this opportunity to once again thank the team for an excellent and enlightening experience.

Heidiann Wilhelm

We made a dolphin watching trip with Stefan last January. We started from Pucusana on a sunny day and were 5 hours on a Zodiac – we saw several groups of dolphins, many sea birds and seals, as well as a group of Humboldt penguins. The dolphins came to us and swam with the boat as if it was a game for them.

At Asia Island we witnessed how Stefan defends this protected area – when he saw people coming too close to the island with their kajaks, he explained to them the risks for the young, recently hatched pelicans on the island.

Stefan did not promise too much and he had an answer and patience to all our questions. We were happy to learn in this trip that Peru is really a very good spot for dolphin watching. We would wish that Peru makes great effort to protect this sensitive ecosystem and that more Peruvians would learn about the natural treasures in front of their door! Thank you Stefan for this great trip and for your conservation efforts!

Dr. Wolfgang Löhlein

Already the first part of the boat ride, getting to the areas where the dolphins are, was amazing. Within half an hour only I could see South American sea lions, Humboldt penguins and an enormous number of marine birds like Inca terns, red-legged shags, sooty shearwaters, blue-footed boobies, Peruvian seaside cinclodes and the threatened Peruvian diving petrel. Then we encountered dusky dolphins in the open ocean and later on two groups of bottlenose dolphins near the beach, which came with their newborns riding the bow of our boat. It was simply an amazing experience. My conclusion: Under no circumstances miss this one.

Christian Busch

First we drove 60 kilometers southwards to Pucusana port where we boarded a zodiac-type boat with a fiberglass hull.

As it soon became clear the bottlenose dolphins loved our fast boat. They speeded around us and came very close to the small boat. It was simply great. First we met some dolphin pairs and later on a group of up to 20. Stefan and Jean-Paul are part of a dolphin research project. They identify each dolphin by natural marks on their fins. So far they took already 60,000 pictures and identified more than 1,000 dolphins (in 2008).

The bottlenose dolphins are enormous and most of us probably know them under the “scientific” term: Flipper. They are truly beautiful animals with interesting coloring of grey shades. On my picture you can see me completely covered by my rain jacket, wearing a hat, sunglasses and protecting my nose with tissue – I wanted to avoid sunburn under all circumstances.

We also saw sea lions, which were looking at us curiously – as we looked at them. We also saw thousands of Pelicans, Guanay cormorants and red-legged shags. A very small and sweet bird was the Peruvian diving petrel, being a species threatened with extinction. Jean Paul had been trying hard to show me one and we got lucky, seeing six of them. I was very much fascinated by observing the cormorants flying parallel to the boat at the same height. It was a very exciting trip.

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