Whale Diary

15:00 - After so many cancelled trips, the wind finally calmed down enough for us to head out again. The swell was high, but it was not so splashy. We stopped by Akurey to see if any puffins were still around. We did not spot any on the island, but the odd puffin was flying about. Then, we headed out. The sun was shining for us and it did not take too long until we spotted a blow. It was a humpback whale. It was doing very short dives without making much distance in any specific direction. It was a decent sign that this whale might have been looking for some fish. We got to see one really nice fluke dive. A few times, we might've missed it because the whale came in and out of sight between the waves. After looking at it a few times, we carried on to keep exploring. This was when we spotted a minke whale. This individual was swimming very calmly and surfacing a lot until it disappeared on us. We checked a few more corners. We found an area that was very busy with birds, but no other cetaceans. We decided to have another look at the humpback whale. We observed two more surface sequences with the second one very close to us. As many boats were arriving to also look at the whale, we moved on from it. On our way back to port, we saw at least 2 harbour porpoises. The sighting was very brief and not everybody managed to have a look at them because they only surfaced once before disappearing. It is nice to know they are around though. We were happy to have had a lovely time at sea on this sunny afternoon.

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Hannah

16:00 - With sun shining in our faces, we were all eager to head out again to see what more Faxaflói bay had to offer. We headed straight out and were all in spotting mode, when suddenly - the back of a humpback whale came up right next to us! We were all thrilled with such a surprise, and were able to stop and admire this individual for quite some time. We observed several fluke dives, and tall blows, one time it surprised us with an exhale so close we almost felt the spout in our faces. After such wonderful encounter we kept going, and soon spotted some more dorsal fins in the water. This time it was a pod of 7 white beaked dolphins, that were calmly surfacing in the sunshine. We were able to observe them several times, and one time they swam right under our boat, giving us a glimpse of their pretty patterns. When the dolphins sped up, we also kept going. We noted several Atlantic puffins out on the water, and were even able to spot a few pufflings testing their wings. All of a sudden, a minke whale popped up. We stopped to see if it would surface again, but we did not see it again, so we continued our journey back towards the harbour. We briefly stopped by Akurey to spot some of the last puffins still on the breeding island. We were also lucky to have a curious seal make an appearance, and stopped to smile back as it was eying us out on the surface. On our way to the harbour, we also briefly spotted 2 harbour porpoises, before passing by the sun voyager and making a return back to Reykjavik. What a marvelous afternoon with all four of our main species spotted!

Crew: Captain Pedro & Guide Maja

19:00 - The wind and waves had calmed down for the evening tour. As we set out, the clear skies gave way to a very powerful sunshine, so we headed for the horizon ahead over glossy waves. One (perhaps our captain) could say the conditions were 'fantabulous'! We soon spotted a blow ahead, the blow of a humpback whale that was changing direction quickly and unexpectedly, keeping us on our toes. Luckily we were close enough to always be alerted to its surfaces by hearing not only the powerful exhale, but getting to clearly hear the inhale of this gentle giant, as it was no doubt hunting some schooling fish beneath the surface. We got to see some surfaces with a lot of momentum, the end moments of some lunges, and some loud Artic terns quickly joined in to pick off the leftovers. We also got to see 2 tiny harbour porpoises very briefly, as well as 2-3 minke whales making momentary appearances in this area, clearly we had found the dinner spot for this evening. We stayed close to the zig-zagging humpback as it kept feeding, but we had our eyes on some very busy seabirds ahead. So, we continued deeper into the bay, and came across an area with Northern gannets, Atlantic puffins and seagulls swarming around. We got to admire these wonderful birds, of which the adorable little puffins would be leaving us soon, heading for open ocean. All of a sudden, some splashes caught our eye, and we headed closer to investigate. We saw some dark, curved fins slicing through the water against the glossy water that was absolutely glowing from the setting sun. It was a pod of 5 white-beaked dolphins! We admired them from afar, when one of them swam right up to us and under our boat. We spent a lovely time with this group, which stopped to circle in an area, and came over to inspect our boat multiple times. Following such a lovely encounter, we decided to set out once more before it was time to head back. We soon spotted yet another blow, and headed over to find that we knew thin second humpback, it was Niela! We got to spend the last minutes of our magical tour admiring her, as she swam across in front of the sunset, the water reflecting all the pastel colors of the sky above. Truly a magical thing to witness. As we made our way back, we got to see Reykjavík in this golden light, and turned to look at the sunset one more time before heading into the harbour. What an absolutely 'fantabulous' evening!

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Orsi