Whale Diary

10:00 - Summer is here and we had blue skies and calm seas! We all headed out and it did not disappoint. We spotted 2 grey seals that were calmy watching us at Akurey. We then headed further out and spotted a pod of 5 white beaked dolphins! They were a little on the shy side so we headed on and found a humpback whale! This whale had a huge blow and came up a few times quite close to us! Each time we could hear its blow so loudly! We stayed for a bit but eventually went for a sail and then headed back with the sunshine on our backs! We saw a minke whale, this one was much closer to land and came upo a few times - what a wonderful way to end the tour!  

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Ricardo, Captain Pedro & Guide María H, Captain Megan & Guide Anna

14:00 -In the afternoon, with the sun still shining brightly in the sky, we sailed back out into the ocean with high hopes of finding more cetaceans in the bay. First of all, we made a short stop at Akurey to visit our beloved Atlantic puffins. Then we continued sailing north, and not far from land we spotted our first big blow in the distance. With excitement running high, we were able to observe a magnificent humpback whale. The whale crossed in front of our bow several times so our passengers could admire it from both sides of the boat. At one point, the whale appeared feeding at the surface, giving everyone on board a huge awe inspiring moment. Almost in the same area, we spotted another whale at the surface. This time it was a minke whale, a smaller species but equally majestic and beautiful. After watching it for a while, including its feeding behavior and constant changes in direction, we left the area and continued our journey. Just before heading back, we encountered a small pod of six whited beaked dolphins, which gave us the perfect ending to our tour. On our way back, a couple of harbor porpoises also appeared closer to shore. What a fantastic day!! 

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Ricardo, Captain Pedro & Guide María H

20:00 - We headed out into the calm bay, mesmerized by the glistening rays of the setting sun. On our way out, we stopped at Akurey to see the Atlantic puffins. On our way out, we saw many large flocks circling above the water, however, none of them seemed to be hiding any whales underneath. We did have a few quick glimpses of our most elusive cetaceans, namely a couple of splashes and a long dark back. We eagerly continued on, determined to spot a whale that would show itself to us. Soon, we spotted some dark dorsal fins ahead, a pod of 7 white-beaked dolphins! We got to see some wonderfully synchronized surfaces from them, but they did appear to be rather busy, moving quickly and unpredictably. Careful not to overstay our welcome, we continued on, and let them get back to whatever dolphin business they had going on. As we were running out of time, we started heading back towards the harbour, and got to see some awesome plunge diving gannets and some diving razorbills along the way, as well as an absolute magical view of Snæfellsjökull under a sky that was positively glowing golden. As we did not get to see the cetaceans in all their glory, we handed out complimentary tickets.

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Orsolya