A group of young sailors was treated to an awe-inspiring and “emotional” experience last weekend when a around 30 dolphins started swimming and playing alongside them in the Tejo River.
The dolphins were spotted near the river’s southern shore, close to the 25 de Abril bridge, by a group of 20 children and 40 adults from the Terra Incógnita sailing school.
“We noticed there were a lot of seagulls and decided to see what was going on,” explained one of the school’s owners Bernardo Queiroz.
When the group saw the dolphins they were all “overjoyed”.
“(The dolphins) are very curious and approached the children. One of them was so emotional he almost cried. The dolphins started playing with us around a metre away from our boats and stayed with us around an hour,” Queiroz told notíciasaominuto website.
The sailing school later explained on its Facebook page that the dolphin sightings have happened “at least once a year” in the Tejo since 2009.
It is believed the dolphins often search the river for food, according to Observador.
A video of the sighting can be seen online (click here).
