Whale Diary

10:00 - We headed into the bay with grey skies but not much wind which did not make the ride so cold. We first stopped to see the puffins in Akurey and then headed out to see something bigger. After some time we came accross a humpback whale. The humpback whale was with other boats so we could observe it a few times as it was slowly traveling around and fluking. As there was a lot of boats around we decided to explore a bit the area to see if maybe we could find something and leave a bit of space for this animal. We went around on the look for at least 30 min before we decided to head back to see the humpback whale again a last time, as it was now free of boats around it. In the last looks, we had the whale starting to roll on its side showing its impressive pectoral fins, it was super impressive. We definitely did not regret having a last look at this beautiful animal and started nour ride back tot he harbour. 

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Mélanie, Captain Pedro & Guide Ricardo

12:00 - All layered up, we headed out to see what the cetaceans had in store for us! First we spent some time admiring our beautiful puffins and then we set sail for the bay. It did not take long before we found one humpback whale! Our hungry humpback provided us with multiple views of its fluke! We could even see those gorgeous pectoral fins to spot when they would come up for a breath. Also we could tell it had had a good meal previously when we saw it poop; which is excellent for the ecosystem! We then set sail again to see who else was out and about. Luckily for us we came across 3 pods of white-beaked dolphins! In total we saw between 12 to 15 individuals. One pod in particular was very curious and came close to check us out! The water was so clear that we could easily watch them circle and inspect us, which was incredible. An excellent afternoon spent out in the bay. 

Crew: Captain Emily & Guide Sam

14:00 - The sun decided to show up for this afternoon tour. We headed into the bay, with a bit of wind on our faces. After a 20 minute ride we found a humpback whale, it was the same as we had seen in the morning. We saw once its tail at the beginning and then we could observe it for some time  arching its back and diving for a deeper dive. As the animal was a bit avoidant we decided to explore the area and we found a pod of 3 white beaked dolphins. The dolphins were going quite fast but still showed up for us on our side. When we saw them changing direction we left and came back in the area were the previous humpback was. This whale was still traveling, and showed us again its back and even came so close to us that we could hear its breath very well. It was a tour filled with animals which made the 2 hours pass very fast. After opur time was up we headed toward the puffin island by the harbour to have a look at puffins before we came back in.

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Mélanie, Captain Pedro & Guide Ricardo

16:00 - Well what an afternoon! With sunshine we set sail out into the bay to see who was there to say hello. We started with a really nice sighting of three individuals from our more elusive species the harbor porpoise. We had a really nice sighting for this species with multiple surface sequences around the boat! The water was very clear and we were able to more easily see them swimming even under the water. We then waved goodbye and went farther out into the bay to see who else was around. Lucky for us we spotted a pod of eight white-beaked dolphins! This pod came close to us at times and gave us a great show with multiple surfaces. We could even hear the blows from them, how cool! A great dolphin filled day for all! On our way back to town we took some time to admire our favorite birds, the Atlantic puffins! Any afternoon on the bay is a great one!

Crew: Captain Emily & Guide Sam

20:00 -  there was a bit of swell when we headed out in the bay for this midnight tour. First stop was puffins, to observe them with this beautiful sunlight. We then went into the swell in a bit of a bouncy ride far into Faxafloi bay. After a 20 min ride we noticed a pod of 5 or so white beaked dolphins. We saw the dolphins for a bit of time, but they kept changing directions, we then left to respect the animals and look for something bigger. We headed toward the area where a whale was spotted on the previous tour hoping to find it again. Luckily enough the animal was still in the same area, we spotted the blow very fast and it was a humpback whale. We could observe this whale as it was traveling around this area for a long time and see various breathing sequences, along with a few fluking sequences. It even came quite close at times. After a good amount of time we left this individual and started our way back toward the harbour. On the way we back we even spotted another pod of 3 dolphins.

Crew: Captain Pedro & Guide Milan, Captain Miquel & Guide Mélanie