Treasures you can find during your sailing holiday
If apparently it arouses a certain disgust, things change if you think that in reality it is a very precious substance better known as ambergris, also called “floating gold” or “treasure of the sea”. We find it in many perfumes, and it has a sublime fragrance. It has a light, delicate, unobtrusive scent that leaves you hanging. But where does it come from? It is not extracted from a flower or even from a plant. Ambergris has an amazing history!
The Great history of Ambergris
“The sperm whale is Moby Dick’s whale. It is the largest animal in the world with teeth and can reach 18 meters in length. It lives almost everywhere in the world – in all oceans – and near us we find it. Las Perlas Islands. It has a greed for squid, and this delicacy creates stomach problems.
Squid in fact have a sharp beak: when ingested they irritate the stomach of the sperm whale. To defend itself from these sharp beaks, the sperm whale secretes a black substance, sticky and lubricating. It is a natural protection, necessary to be able to continue eating like a whale “.
But here begins the interesting part for us. This substance can be regurgitated or excreted with feces, and once it is out of the animal it floats on the surface of the sea. At first its smell is unpleasant, but over time, thanks to the action of the sun and salt water, it changes appearance: it becomes gray and fragrant. It’s her, the ambergris. Yes, her, that delicate and very good fragrance used by perfumers.
When you sail on your sailing holiday, through the whale routes, in our case the protagonist is Panama, to the islands of Las Perlas but also in other locations, you may be lucky enough to encounter a huge block of whale vomit.
What to do if we spot the precious and treasures substance floating in the sea
If we happen to spot the precious and treasures substance floating in the sea or on a beach, we don’t think twice about recovering it and bringing it ashore with us: after having ascertained and certifying that it is precisely the very precious ambergris whose market value ranges from 35 thousand to 60 thousand dollars a kilo, we could be in possession of a huge treasure whose value well exceeds one million dollars. In short, a real stroke of luck for our sailing holiday.
Gray Amber is in fact a very precious substance that has been used since ancient times as a natural medicine, incense and even as an aphrodisiac. What makes its astronomical value is precisely the fact that it is not readily available. Not only that: not all whales produce it, in fact, it is estimated that only between 1 and 5% of them contain ambergris. Moreover, being the sperm whales a protected species, their hunting for the purposes of the ambergris trade is forbidden so meeting it floating is really an extraordinary stroke of luck, but a not impossible probability, a real treasure hunt that you can do in the your sailing holiday with us at Myblue4you. So keep your eyes peeled and good luck.
You may also be interested in reading...
- Alternative yacht holidays
- Reef Corals
- Whales and krill fundamental for our planet
- Yachting vs Boating
- First Sailing Experience feelings
- Protect our seas
- Treasures you can find during your sailing holiday
- Ograsiano – Sailing Adventures in San Blas (Part 2)
- Ograsiano – Sailing Adventures in San Blas (Part 1)
- Fun things to do on a boat
