Whale Diary

10:00 - We had a great start to an exciting day! We headed out to overcast skies, but perfectly calm seas. On our way into the bay, we stopped by Akurey to have a look at some Atlantic puffins. There was a lot of them still around, so we are cherishing the time we have left with them before they are leaving with their end of the breeding season. Then, we went to look for whales! Didn't even take us long. We found a humpback whale close by and had a look at some neat surface sequences. It showed us a very white fluke underside. Then we spotted another blow that led us to another humpback whale. This one's fluke was very dark. The whale was in an area with a lot of birds. This is always a good indicator for some fish around. Sure enough, it started lunge-feeding super close to us!! We even spotted 2 minke whales around there! We explored further and found a third  humpback whale! This one seemed to be sleeping. It surfaced very slowly, doing shallow dives. After a slightly longer dive, it came up right towards our left and dove under the boat. After that, it lifted its fluke for us once and we said goodbye to it. It was the end of the trip and we were so lucky to have experienced these incredible encounters!

Crew: Captain Pedro & Guide María, Captain Siggi & Guide Hannah

12:00 - We decided to set coarse towards the North to search for whales. They were very close to the shore today, and only 15 minutes (maybe, even less) after departure, we spotted a humpback whale. This whale was soon joined by a second humpback, and we had the privilege of observing them feed, pushing the fish up to the surface, bringing their mouth out of the water to catch them, and scaring all the birds resting in the water, forcing them to take flight. These humpbacks were soon joined by up to 3 minke whales, which also started feeding in the area. We then had to leave this whales and decided to go for another quick search further North, before heading home. Our quick search paid off, with a sighting of a group of 3 harbour porpoises, who were so distracted feeding, that they didn't even seem to notice our presence, only a few dozen meters away. We then headed back home, although not before stopping at the puffin breeding colony in Engey island, where we could see the last few hundred puffins still remaining on the Island (their breeding season ends in August and they've started leaving Iceland).

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Ricardo

14:00 - In the afternoon, we went out again. This time, we went straight into the bay. We found a humpback whale there. It was breathing. It was amazing. We stayed with this for a bit and observed a peduncle throw. We carried on and found another humpback whale. This one was also breathing. As we got closer, we got a really good look at it because it fluked right next to out boat. Then it blew some bubbles around our other boat next to us. We did not see any lunge-feeding, so we are not sure if it was actually feeding in this moment or just having some fun with us. After this spectacle, we continued on and came past 2 harbour porpoises. Farther in the bay, there was a third humpback whale. We looked at this one breathe a bit too. Then we started heading back. We found 5 more harbour porpoises. Finally, we stopped by Akurey to have a look at some Atlantic puffins that were absolutely darling. The end.

Crew: Captain Pedro & Guide María, Captain Siggi & Guide Hannah

20:00 - On this wet beautiful night we sailed out to check out the wildlife of Faxaflói after the Solar Eclipse! We first stopped by Akurey island to look at some puffins. There were so many on the water and we could get very close to the island because of the high tides! We then started our way to the whales and it didn't take long until we saw our first blow! A humpback whale was peacefully swimming and all of a sudden, a lunge feed next to the birds! This one scared away another flock of birds when coming up for another lunge feed and we were already amazed! On another lunge feed, it also waved the pectoral fin. After spending a while with it, we decided to move but - The whale, that was not close to us before, breached super close!! That was an amazing surprise. Then, we continued our trip to find another humpback a couple of meters away. This one was also feeding! At the same area, we spotted a minke whale for a few times! The sea conditions were also getting better and better over the tour and we encountered ourselves in a beautiful flat sea. This minke was beautifully cutting the surface with its pointy snout. We also had so many puffins next to our boat, and it felt like a 2nd puffin tour! We then started heading back to the harbour, super happy with all the sightings!

Crew: Captain Helgi & Guide Milla