Whale Diary

09:00 - We started the morning right, by heading out onto a calm, flat bay under beaming sunshine to spot some whales of course! Our first stop was by the isle of Engey near the harbour to get a nice close look at the Atlantic puffins before they head off into the open ocean as their breeding season comes to an end. We then turned to head out into the bay, but turned out, we didn't have to go that far to have our first whale sighting, as there was a rather curious minke whale hanging near these islands. As we approached, it seemed this whale was almost as thrilled to see us as we were to see it, because it spent a good long while circling us, giving us a good close-up look at this usually elusive and shy species. Its pointy rostrum (snout) seemed to come above the surface more and more, until at one point we even got to see it spy-hop, a behaviour where the whale brings its eyes above the surface of the water by taking a more vertical position in the water. It is beyond super rare to see this behaviour from a minke, so we were all very excited! As the minke moved on to examine and inspect some of the other boats that had come to enjoy the spectacle, we slowly left the area, to let the other boats have a turn and to not overwhelm this lovely inquisitive whale. As we continued on, we saw many more puffins and came across our second minke whale of the tour. We headed further out, hoping to see some other species, and soon spotted a blow ahead, a humpback whale. This whale seemed to be quite busy and travelling quickly, resurfacing far from the areas it dove down in (it also apparently wished to remain anonymous, as it did not show off the fluke in a fluke dive, which this species is famous for). We decided to respect the privacy of this whale and began making our way back towards Reykjavík, and along the way, we spotted some dark, curved, pointy fins slicing through the water, a pod of 3 white-beaked dolphins. These dolphins also seemed to want to keep their distance from the boats today, so we got to see them surface a couple of times before continuing on our way. As we were once again nearing the islands near the harbour, we suddenly spotted yet another blow, the second humpback whale of the tour! This individual was a bit more open to visitors, as we got to see it surface a lot closer and it even bid us farewell with their famous fluke-dive. What an exciting morning!

Crew: Captain Anna & Guide Orsi

10:00 - We continued the morning by heading straight to the island of Engey to have a look at the Atlantic puffins, and we were lucky to find a lot of these charming seabirds both resting on the sea surface and waddling around the island. After some sweet moments here, we continued on further out into the bay to spot for whales. The conditions were wonderful, with very calm seas and bright sun shining in the sky. Soon, we were very lucky to find a minke whale. We stopped and were able to watch the individual come up for air several times, with the sunshine reflecting beautifully on its back. We continued on and spotted some smaller fins in the water, which turned out to be a quite spread out pod of 6 harbour porpoises. We stopped for a moment, to see them swiftly surface a few times just by our side. However, something else caught our attention a bit further away, so we sped up to find ourselves a humpback whale! This individual was diving for quite long sequences, but during that time we were able to enjoy the beautiful landscapes around and all the seabirds that were out feeding as well. After a few more blows, we continued on our adventure to find yet another humpback whale. This individual surfaced closer to us, and even treated us to a beautiful fluke dive before it was time for us to head back to the city. 

Crew: Captain  Megan & Guide Maja 

12:00 - The wind had picked a little bit, bringing a nice refreshing breeze to cool us off in the bright sunshine. Our first stop took us by the island of Engey, where we got the see the adorable little Atlantic puffins. We were very happy to get to see them, as their breeding season is coming to a close soon, and they are getting ready to head out onto the open ocean. We bundled up and headed deeper into the bay, eager to spot cetaceans. Though it took us a while, we finally saw the first signs, the dark, curved, pointed dorsal fins of 5 white-beaked dolphins! This was a lovely group of curious and inquisitive individuals, and there was at least one mother-calf pair amongst them. Normally, pods with calves tend to be a lot more cautious and steer clear of vessels, but this little one came right up to us multiple times and swam directly under the boat, giving us a thorough inspection. It is always wonderful to see such young dolphins exploring, and the rest of the pod also followed, surfacing directly next to us multiple times. Once play-time was over for the youngsters, the pod began moving away, and not wanting to disturb them, we also turned and started heading in the direction of Reykjavík. Along the way, we saw yet another dark back and pointy curved dorsal fin, but this time it belonged to a minke whale! This minke was a bit more shy and elusive, especially compared to the curious bunch of dolphins, but we still got to see it a couple of times before it was time to head back to port. What a lovely tour!

Crew: Captain Anna & Guide Orsi

13:00 - The sun was shining, a rare treat here in Iceland. We stopped by the island of Engey to look at everybody´s favorite bird, the Atlantic puffin! As we were looking at these cute birds, we spotted a minke whale close to the island. This whale surfaced right next to us, giving us a look at their adorable face. We got treaded to a few sighting and then decided to continue our adventure in Faxafloi bay. A small dorsal fin got our attention, a harbour porpoise popped up next to the boat! After 2 quick appearance, it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. It was amazing to be on the ocean today and we enjoyed the sun as we went for a large loop around the bay, spotting 2 more minke whales and so many beautiful seabirds! After the last one, we were running out of time, so we turned to the sun and headed back home. 

Crew: Captain Megan  & Guide Maja , Captain Emily & Guide Janiek

15:00 - In the afternoon, the wind had stirred up a bit more of a swell, but conditions were still gorgeous with calm waves and the sun continuing to beam down, keeping us nice and warm. Before we headed out onto the bay, we took a quick stop by Engey to get a look at the Atlantic puffins before they head out onto the open ocean as their breeding season comes to a close. Once further out into the bay, we admired the seabirds, which were very active. We got to see the Northern gannets, and plenty of very nosy Northern fulmars. As we continued on, we saw some dark, curved, pointy dorsal fins, a pod of 7 white-beaked dolphins with 2 mother-calf pairs! As we were admiring these agile, quick dolphins, we were suddenly surprised by a minke whale that had snuck up on us! It surfaced rather close by, so, as the dolphins were slowly heading away, we decided to stick with the minke whale. We got to see several full surfacing sequences from multiple angles from this very calm minke. It was very nice of this whale to move so slowly, so we could keep up and get some lovely close looks. With a final deep dive, this whale bid us farewell, and we made our way back to port. What a wonderful, calm afternoon!

Crew: Captain Anna & Guide Orsi

16:00 - The sun kept shining this afternoon, as we headed out once again with cheerful spirits, eager to find out what else the bay had to offer. After a brief stop by Engey to watch the Atlantic puffins, we headed straight out and eagerly looked for any signs of whale activity around. After about 40 minutes of sailing, a minke whale suddenly surfaced besides us. This individual brought out its sharp snout very high above the surface, and it also arched its back very high when going for deeper dives. At one point we turned off the engines, and were able to enjoy as the minke whale surfaced so close that we could even hear its exhale. After some beautiful time here, we continued sailing, to find a pod of 7 white beaked dolphins. We were able to watch these surface close to us, and were happy to notice a few calves amongst the adults. As the dolphins swam off, we also continued on to find ourselves a humpback whale. This individual stayed quite long on the surface before going for deeper dives, and we were able to see the beautiful tale fluke up close before we had to make our return back to Reykjavik. What a wonderful afternoon out in nature!

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Maja , Captain Emily & Guide Janiek

19:00 - In the evening, conditions remained excellently smooth. The sun was lowering towards the horizon and it was a nicely sunny evening. We went straight out to have a look at an unusually friendly juvenile minke whale. It was circling our Classic whale watching boat. Once they departed, it found an interest in a nearby sailing boat. We watched it surfacing with its rostrum high in the air and then showing off its sleek back and dorsal fin. Super cute! The sailing boat started leaving, but the minke whale trailed it for a little. After over two hours of checking out boats, it finally lost interest. It probably went looking for some fish after all this excitement. We carried on too and sailed into the bay. After a bit, we found some dolphins. It was a pod of around 7 white-beaked dolphins with a calf! Also super cute! We were looking at the dolphins leaping around, when all all of a sudden a humpback whale surfaced right in the middle of them! Turns out it was Cheeseburger! The whale took a few breath and ended its surface sequence with a very neat fluke dive. Cheeseburger did a nice long dives of around 7 minutes and we observed 2 more surface sequences before we said bye-bye and started heading back. We did one more stop by Engey to have a look at some puffins there. We were surprised to see a lot of them on the grassy island. It is very nice to see them around still, so late in their breeding season before they return to sea. Looked like they were enjoying sunset just like us!

Crew:  Captain Emily & Guide Janiek, Captain Megan & Guide Hannah