Preface Note: You can find out more about where I’m volunteering by going to Blue-World.org. Check out their site, and support them if you can, they are doing good work here.
After a fun day looking for a dead sea turtle (which we didn’t find), we called it a day and made plans for the night. Hey, what else is there to do in the summertime? We all got together in Mali Losinj, and hung out at a local cafe that had a live band playing. It was a large group, consisting of most of the ADP staff, and several other people. The place was outdoors, and the weather was nice. We hung out there for about 3 beers when we noticed that it was going to rain any second. So we made the call to move to another place in town called Zanzibar. This was also an outdoor place, but they had large umbrellas up all around, so everyone was able to stay dry. It was a good crowd, and we enjoyed a couple of overpriced cocktails there. The weather got worse and worse, so we just decided to call it a night about 1 AM.
The weather on sunday didn’t get any better, it stayed cloudy and rainy most of the day. I needed to get my cel phone’s airtime recharged, or at least a new sim card. So I went along with Niko into Mali Losinj to see if I can get that done. The stores were all closed, though, so I was out of luck for the day. We had to go get some groceries, so we went and knocked that out.
During the drive, I asked Niko some questions about how Croatia and Serbs were relating nowadays. She started talking about how Croatia has managed to recover since its long and bloody civil war with Serbia, and then Bosnia-Hercegovina. Most of the 90’s consisted of much war and bloodshed in this country, and there are still alot of unhealed wounds apparently.
She went on to explain how in the early years of the civil war, the Serbs, who had inherited most of the former Yugoslavian army, methodically bombed and terrorized Croatia, simply because Croatia wanted certain sovereign rights after the fall of communist Yugoslavia. Her home city, Split, was only bombed one time. But the other major cities, like Dubrovnik, and Zagreb, were bombed and shelled repeatedly, and there was quite a bit of destruction. While her family was lucky to not experience any deaths or injuries because of the war, most of the people she knew lost at least 1 family member. So there is clearly alot of anger and resentment among the Croats. On one hand, what’s done is done, but on the other, there is still alot of damage, pain, and hard feelings.
She also said that she knows that their country did “not do good things” during their war with Bosnia, but went on to say that the Serbs did far more damage and bloodshed. When I asked her what she thought about the Serbs now, she said that she still has hard feelings, as most Croats do.
She went on to say that Croatia really wants to be accepted as a true developing country in Europe. They are now trying to get into the EU, but there is some static with that because of a few Croatian military leaders who are wanted by the UN for some little “atrocities” that occurred in Bosnia. This is causing a lot of rife within the country, because the EU suspects that Croatian leaders know where these people are, and they want them turned in to The Hague. It looks like this will be a problem for Croatia for some time to come. It was good for me to get some background on how Croatia and Croats themselves are dealing with the results of war that stems from nationalistic hatred that has manifested itself over hundreds of years. It was an eye-opener, particularly the more I learned about it.
Marta and I were supposed to work at the center that evening, so that was pretty much the only work that was done, at least by us. Town was fairly empty that day, being somewhat of a transition day for the tourists. The weather got better later in the day. The center was actually quite busy that evening, probably because the weather was so crummy. So that was good. The center is a big revenue source for ADP, but only during the short tourist season. So the more tourists they get in the center, the better.
That night, Annika’s sister Maya made dinner, and though most of us were planning to go have a beer afterwards at Rovenska, only a couple of us actually made it out. We got back early, and Niko and I ended up watching the Tom Hanks movie, “The Terminal” on the computer. I was actually pretty disappointed with it.
On Monday, we started the day off with a lecture from Niko about the acoustic research they have made as well as other information regarding the kinds of sounds dolphins make, and why. This was quite interesting for me. Even though dolphins, porpoises, beluga whales and killer whales are so similar, they all make very different sounds. So she proceeded to tell us about the types of sounds that dolphins and other whales make, how they make them, and why. It was a pretty interesting lecture, even though Niko gave it. 
Then, the weather looked good, so the crew was going to head out on the boat. My problem was that I started feeling not-too-good that morning, and thought it would be better to stay back at the house. I was just not feeling up to par, my stomach was complaining, and I just felt blah. So I told Niko and Annika that I would have to sit that run out.
I also knew the second I told them I wouldn’t go, they would end up having one of their best sighting days ever. Marta was also not feeling too hot, so Annika, Niko and Udo were the only ones to go. I stayed at the house for about another hour, and actually started feeling better. So I walked down to the center to see if by some odd chance they were still getting their gear and the boat ready. If so, I was going to jump on.
They had already left the harbor, as I suspected, and Pete told me that they called in from being out of the harbor not even 5 minutes with their first sighting. He and Vesna were on their way out of the center for a break, and invited me to walk up to the point off the harbor to see if we can see them and the dolphins they were watching while having coffee. There’s a hotel there called “Punta”, and we sat at a terrace cafe close by. We didn’t see them, but they did call again to say that they had another sighting just down the coast off Rovenska. By this time, I was seething, because I KNEW that this was going to happen. My luck, as usual.
So after our coffee, we walked back to the center. Pete and I hung out there, and I did a little bit of work while we were waiting for the crew to get back. About an hour or so later, Annika comes in triumphantly, saying that they had a record FOUR sightings that day. Niko was being quite smug about it too. I wanted to crush them.
That night, they were in a celebratory mood for such a great sighting streak, “yay”, so we all headed down to Rovenska and had a drink. It was a rather nice night, though a bit cool.
On Tuesday, we made it out before 10 AM, and within an hour we had a nice sighting of about 7 dolphins. We got some good picture taking in, and followed them for a good 45 minutes or so before moving on. It didn’t take us long to find another group of about 5 dolphins, and we did the same thing with them. The water was flat and glassy, making it easy to see them from even long distances. It was quite sunny and warm as well. We made a nice trip around a couple of the larger out islands off Losinj, and also took some acoustic samples. It turned out to be a great day, at least somewhat making up for what I missed the previous day. Though Niko and Annika were still rubbing in the previous days’ sightings pretty good.
Wednesday was also nice and sunny, and we made it out close to 10 AM. We were going to check at least 6 acoustic points today. These were designated points in the reserve that they marked on their GPS to check the sound conditions on a regular basis. By checking the same locations, they are able to reliably gauge how the ambient sound levels are at different times. Then, they can use that data and compare it to the locations of where we spot the dolphins, and try to find connections between their positions and the surrounding noise levels.
We also got a lecture from Marta regarding dolphins, killer whales and porpoises held in captivity. While I knew alot of what she was telling us already, there was still much that was an eye opener. In short, marine mammals in captivity live half their normal life spans, are subject to many diseases that they simply never experience in the wild, and are for the most part, abused and mistreated.
Even though I enjoyed going to Sea World when I was a kid growing up in Florida, it was plain to see even then that this was not the right thing to do with these magnificent animals. We know much more now than when we started keeping these animals in captivity. Quite frankly, it’s time for a change. These venues need to change the way they do things. It’s simply not a valid argument to keep mistreating these animals irresponsibly in the name of profit. Think about that the next time you consider going to a dolphin or killer whale attraction.
Over 3 hours or so, we covered 6 points, and we even had a good sighting of about 6 or 7 dolphins, including one with a newborn. There was some great jumping and socializing going on, which was really cool to watch. One dolphin repeatedly slapped its fluke on the surface at us. Annika said it meant he wasn’t happy, presumably with our being there, and that was his way of telling us and the other dolphins.
One of the many things I learned about dolphins while being here is that they jump for many reasons, but mostly to communicate. The percussion sound that they produce when they hit the surface is distinct and can travel for several miles. Most often, dolphins use it as a way to let other dolphins in their group know his location, as well as to tell them that they have found fish to feed on. Dolphins spend almost 80% of their time feeding, so almost always any communication going on has to do with food somehow.
The dolphins did not seem to be going in any direction during the first part of the sighting, which indicated that they were probably feeding on fish in the area where we were. About 30 minutes or so into the sighting, we did notice that they more or less set course in one direction. So off they went, and Annika called it. We went to a light tower located off an island called Bik after that. It’s a good spot for observing the area from a height over the water. They use it quite regularly to locate dolphins further out in calm conditions. We stayed there for a good 20 minutes, didn’t see anything, so we moved on.
We checked a couple more acoustic points, and we were back in the harbor within another hour. Annika was pretty happy because she got some good shots (she’s going to give me some of her better shots, so no worries, I’ll have them up here sometime).
There was supposed to be some kind of street festival in Mali Losinj, the neighboring town that night. Vesna and Niko were planning on going, as well as I. Annika was going to go, but decided she was too tired, as was Marta. So, after the center closed, we were off to Mali, along with Udo. The town center was already crowded when we got there, and there was a stage setup with live music in full swing. I was pretty hungry when we got there, so first order of business was to get some food. I stopped by one of the food vendors, and ordered some fried calamari. Had to wait awhile, and then I ended up only getting about half an order since they ran out. Geez. What I did get was pretty tasty though.
A local Croatian pop star named Tony Cetinski performed that night, which apparently drew quite a crowd. Niko was very excited about his performance, though she clearly stated that he’s good even though he’s a “junkie”. There was food, drink, and all the usual festival accoutrements. The night was capped by a pretty sizable fireworks display over the harbor.
The fireworks did interrupt the show in a strange way though. They started going off while they were performing, but the fireworks were visible in the other direction, so everyone had to look away from the stage. The band just sorta stopped and went off stage without anyone noticing, and waited for the fireworks to end before resuming their set.
To me, the band ran a little long, but what do I know? We ended up hanging out for a couple more hours before calling it a night. Moving on to Zanzibar, where we danced for awhile. I’m glad that I got to see at least one “feast-like” event while I was here.
Thursday, was the last “real” day for me. So Annika decided we would take a short boat run for just a couple of hours, and work our way to an island called Oruda. We anchored there, and took time to enjoy the weather and have a nice swim. We didn’t see any dolphins, though I don’t think we really tried all that hard. We motored back to Veli by early afternoon.
Back at the house, we were going to have a barbecue, and I was drafted into making my super-special marinade for the chicken. I had made it for the gang a couple of nights back when Pete and I barbecued, and it was a hit. So they weren’t going to let me leave without an encore performance. 
There was a lot of food, and some people that were supposed to show, didn’t. So there was a LOT of food. We grilled up the chicken as well as a local meat treat called “cevapcici”. It’s essentially ground beef that’s spiced up and shaped into little mini sausages. VERY tasty.
Everybody was stuffed by the time that was over, so we did the natural thing and headed down to Rovenska for a drink. Let’s just say that we were going to just have one drink and call it a night. That didn’t happen. Marta and Vesna in particular were committed to keeping me out til some ungodly hour. They succeeded.
Today is my departure day. I head out to Ljubljana on a late night bus. I’ll only be there for the day tomorrow before heading back towards Belgium. With only a few days to make the rounds and bid my goodbyes to everybody before having to work my way to London.
In closing, I just want to say here that it has been a fantastic time in Veli Losinj working with ADP. I came here with the only expectation being that I do something constructive and beneficial to something other than myself. If it was fun in the process, then all the better. But I got back a lot more than I gave. I learned volumes about these fascinating creatures, made many new friends of which I’m sure I will see again, and have developed a new respect for conservation efforts such as these. It’s refreshing to see people who really care about something bigger than themselves, and actually exhibit passion for what they do. It’s inspiring, quite frankly.
Not to sound like a fanatical “tree hugger”, but this much is true. Responsible conservation of wildlife and resources is everybody’s business. Projects like ADP work to help preserve habitat, educate the public, and try to ensure responsible, non-invasive development. As more and more pristine coastline areas in the developing world become developed in the name of fishing, tourism, and residential development, the more valuable projects like these will become. Governments will not do it on their own. Politics often do not consider the basic fundamentals of species survival, environmental protection, and/or resource conservation as a priority.
It’s up to people to organize and provide the platform to protect wildlife and resources and keep the free market forces in check. So find the good organizations, learn about them, and support them any way you can. ADP is one of the good ones, you can be assured of that, and they need all the support that they can get.
I suspect that I will be connected with ADP for some time to come, and hope to see my new friends in Veli again soon. Next time I’m here, it will be aboard Andiamo, no doubt about it.
