Whale Diary

10:00 - Today we sailed onto a sunny but chilly morning. The sun was shinning and there were almost no clouds. Great weather for whale watching! Each boat took different directions. However, we both ended up finding the same thing. Each boat found a couple of humpback whales. However, the whales didn't seem very interested on us. They took a few breaths before they went for deeper dives, but every time they did it we could take a good view of their beautiful flukes.. When they surfaced, they did it in a different position, so we think they might be travelling somewhere. We all really enjoyed the time with these amazing animals. However, we were running out of time so we had to go back to port. 

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Guillermo, Captain Kylie & Guide Mélanie and Orsolya

12:00 - This day offered sunshine. We headed out to Akurey first to see our beloved puffins and afterwards we sailed out to sea. We soon noticed a black back and this happened to be 1 minke whale. This individual was a bit shy so we continued a bit. Another back appeared together with a big spout, and this turned out to be 1 humpback whale. This one offered some beautiful fluke dives. In the same areas there were around 3 minke whales as well. We could often smell the minke whales before seeing them. They truly live up to their nickname "stinky minke" and this gave passengers a good laugh. A bit further away another back was detected and this turned out to be another humpback whale. We spent some time with this one, but it did quite long dives. We headed to another humpback whale after a while, although this might be the same individual as the first one. After spending some time in the boat on the way back, another humpback whale gave us a glance. As we continued back 1 harbour porpoise showed itself. This was a successful tour with three out of four of our most common species.

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Frida

14:00 - Relieved to see the cloud cover breaking, we left the harbour with sunshine peaking through, and calm seas ahead, great conditions for spotting cetaceans in the bay. We came across the first blow quite quickly, the first humpback whale of the tour. We also spotted a minke whale in the area, making some brief, sporadic appearances in the background. As the humpback for some deeper fluke dives, we had to keep an eye out, as the next surface was never quite were we expected. After spending some time with this individual, we headed to another blow rather close, in the same area. This individual was logging, resting on the surface, taking breaths often. As it was so close to the surface, we got a really good view of the size of the animal. But, as nap-time was apparently over, this sleepy whale also started going for some fluke dives. We then spotted a fluke in the distance, and headed over. This whale kept us in suspense, but we were rather excited to see bubbles appearing near our boat, a clear sign of bubble-net feeding! However, this whale had mastered misdirection, as it never seemed to surface near the bubbles, often surprising us with a blow on the opposite side of the boat. We stayed with this whale as long as we could, admiring the bubble-net feeding technique, and of course, the fluke dives.

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Guillermo, Captain Pedro & Guide Mélanie and Orsolya

16:00 - The day offered sunny skies and calm seas which gave us all joy. We headed out to sea and after a little bit 1 humpback whale appeared. This one came close to the boat and started to lunge feed right next to us. This came as a complete surprise and chocked everyone on board. As it came to the surface it ended up on its back, showing its ruffled white belly with pectoral fins in the air. After waiting around for another lunge feed that never came, we continued to another humpback whale and got to enjoy its presence. We headed back satisfied to the harbour after a stunning day at sea.

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Frida

20:00 - We sailed out into calm seas with a lovely sunset ahead of us. We spotted a blow on the horizon so we decided to go and check it out. We then quickly realized this was a very playful humpback whale, having some fun with a pod of 4-5 white beaked dolphins! The whale was spending a lot of time at the surface trumpeting and rolling, allowing us to see the fluke and pectoral fins come out of the water! After an exciting time, it seemed like they calmed down and the dolphins took their leave. The whale was then diving down a couple times, with a nice high fluke. Eventually, time ran out so we turned away from the whale, ready to head back. Then, a loud bang startled us all! We turn out heads and saw a big splash, the whale had just breached! For a moment we were disappointed we missed it, but then, a second breach happened, perfectly in front of us! Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a second humpback joined the scene and one of them started tailslapped about 5 times, and the dolphins arrived again as well. We had a hard time leaving this spectacle behind us but with hearts full of wonder we managed to tear our eyes of the scene and got ready for the ride back to Reykjavik.

Crew: Captain Kylie & Guide Milan