Whale Diary

10:00 - Today we had a proper summer day. The skies were clear, the ocean was quite calm and just a weak refreshing breeze was blowing from the north. We left the port very excited to what was waiting for us. Just a few minutes after leaving the harbor, we found a pair of harbor porpoises surfacing every now and then quite close to the boat, which is not very common for this species. We left them alone and we continued our way out. We arrived to an area with at least 5 minke whales. These whales are known to be a bit shy around boats. However, they were going to the surface to breathe quite often and sometimes very close to us. We waved them goodbye and we continued sailing. We were surprised again by a few minkes, 4 this time, that were also quite close to each other. We decided to stop the boat and watch them surface elegantly from time to time. Unfortunately we run out of time, so we headed back to port.

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Anna, Captain Kylie & Guide Guillermo 

12:00 - Midday was quite warm today in Reykjavík, with a super sunny sky. So, we quickly put our overalls and life-jackets on and headed into the boats. It rapidly cooled down though, when we headed out of the harbour and we felt the cold sea breeze. The almost flat seas were great for spotting wildlife and we quickly spotted an humpback whale. It was coming to the surface to rest and get some air, before diving again and showing us its beautiful fluke. We then continued our ride and arrived to an area full or northern gannets and fulmars (marine birds) hunting fish. The gannets were doing and amazing show, plunge-diving dozens of meters into the water, to catch fish. Among these birds, 2 minke whales showed up. One of them was very curious approaching our boat various times, something uncommon for minkes. We then headed home and passed by Akurey island, wherewe saw some of the last puffins still remaining there.

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Ricardo

14:00 - This afternoon the weather was great for whale watching. The sun was still shining without any clouds on the horizon, so we sailed happily out onto the bay. We stopped for a minke whale that surfaced a couple of times next to the boat. However, this whale wasn't the most friendly one so we left to look for something else. We spotted a few blows in the distance which turned out to be a humpback whale. This whale was very focused on feeding and gaining weight before its big migration. But we were lucky enough to see it a few times before it went down for a deeper dive. It even showed us once its beautiful fluke! In the area there was also a minke probably having lunch with this humpback. We continued sailing around the bay and we came across with a 3 harbour porpoises, one individual first and a few minutes later with a couple of them. They didn't stay with us very long though, but it is always nice to see them from time to time. Sadly, we were running out of time and we had to head back to port.  

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Anna, Captain Kylie & Guide Guillermo 

15:00 - We departed the harbour with a group of lovely passengers who were all excited to find the whales. The weather continued to be great throughout the afternoon, with the sea conditions even getting slightly better. Our first sighting consisted of 2 harbour porpoises, swimming together. However, these are very small and shy animals, who tend to keep a distance from us. So, the passengers had a hard time seeing them among the waves. However, soon enough, we returned to our search and found a minke whale. This beautiful rorqual surfaced multiple times, showing us its dorsal fin. This was then followed by a sighting of not 1, but 3 humpback whales, which approached our boat full of curiosity, living many of us in awe. We then returned to Reykjavík, happy with what we the experience we had in the tour.

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Ricardo

18:00 - We sailed out into calm seas with bright skies above. First we encountered a pod of 4 white beaked dolphins, they were jumping in the distance so we could see their splashes from far away! As we got closer, they became curious towards the boat and approached us multiple times, swimming right beside and under us! Eventually, they lost interest and as they moved onwards, so did we. We then spotted a humpback whale, this one was diving leisurely and was behaving very calmly. Our second humpback whale was very different though, time after time it kept slapping its enormous pectoral fins on the water surface, giving us an unbelievable show to which we had first row seats. After slapping and rolling for the longest time, it even performed a breach! It then continued its rhythm of pec-slapping and diving over and over. We enjoyed this amazing show until finally we had to go back towards the harbor, but not before we went to say hi to the last few remaining puffins on Akurey!

Crew: Captain Óðinn & Guide Milan

19:00 - We departed from Reykjavík for another wonderful safari in Faxaflói. This was accompanied by good weather, just like all of our previous tours today. We first visited Akurey island, where we got to see some cute pufins, some of which were carrying sand eels (their prey) in their mouth. Then, we went to an area where we knew whales had been seen, only about an hour before. As we got there, this was still the case, as the area had both humpback whales and minke whales. These were feeding here, together with various other marine birds, such as gannets, fulmars and kittiwakes. At one point, one humpback started breaching, some 2 kilometers from us. We headed towards it and, after waiting a few minutes, it restarted breaching, peduncle-slapping and tail-slapping, in an amazing show of force. All of this was happening while minke whales were surfacing around us. To finish the tour in a great away, we found a pod of white-beaked dolphins nearby, which included adults, juveniles and even a small calf, travelling with her mother. In conclusion, this was also an amazing tour to finish what was, all in all, an amazing day!

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Ricardo