Whale Diary

09:00 - On this wonderful sunny, but chilly morning, we headed out eager to spot cetaceans. Although we had to go quite far,  our first sighting was a lovely brave, curious little minke whale which gave us a couple of nice close surfaces. We soon spotted a blow nearby, so we decided to head over and get a better look. On our way over, we saw a pod of 4 harbour porpoises, the smallest out of the 4 species we commonly see here, always a treat to get to see them! As got closer to the blow, it was clear we were approaching a humpback whale. But it wasn't just any humpback whale, it was Niela, a well-known and well-loved whale in Faxaflói bay. We got to see her surface very close to our boat and go for several fluke dives, showing off the little alien face on her fluke after which she is named. As she seemed to be rather busy beneath the surface, we decided to continue on, and came across a second humpback whale! We stayed with this individual until our time ran out, and we had to head back to the harbour. What a lovely, busy morning!

Crew: Captain Raggi & Guide Orsi

10:00 - The morning continued offering stunning weather, as we headed out into the bay full of excitement of what the tour might bring. After a quick pass by the sun voyager, we headed straight out and admired the beautiful surroundings before we soon spotted the blow of a humpback whale. We were very lucky with this individual as we were treated to close encounters just next to our boat. The whale was coming up to do some loud exhales, and then diving down deeper and showing its beautiful tale fluke. We continued on, to soon end up in an area full of seabirds, indicating that it must be a good fishing ground. Here we found another humpback whale, however this one seemed a bit more elusive, going for deeper dives and spending less time at the surface. A pod of 4 harbour porpoises also popped up, giving us a good size comparison of our smallest and largest main species. Suddenly, we noted some commotion in the ocean a little further away from us. Intrigued, we sailed over to see what was causing the splashes. It turned out to be yet another humpback whale. When we arrived, it did a sudden peduncle throw, which caused a big splash and a lot of excitement onboard. We could observe some more fluke dives, and then, out of nowhere, a breach! No one onboard was prepared for this quick energy expel, but nevertheless it left everyone with big smiles on their faces. As the humpback whale seemed to take time to rest, it became more elusive, so we sailed back to the individual we spent time with before. As we arrived, we could identify this individual as Niela, a humpback whale that has spent time here in the bay throughout the years. Nela treated us to another beautiful fluke dive, and we also had more sightings of 5 harbour porpoises, sporadically popping up around. After all these wonderful sightings it was time to head back to the harbour again, all basking in the sun along the way. 

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Maja

12:00 - We headed out under bright sunshine, with the waves and wind steadily calming down. Although it was quite chilly, we were very well bundled up in our overalls, and of course, the sunshine warmed us right up whenever we stopped. Our first sighting was Niela, a humpback whale we know well, she was hanging out in an area with a lot of seabirds feeding at the surface, clearly the prime brunch/lunch spot today, as we also got to see 4 sneaky harbour porpoises making brief appearances around us. We stayed with Niela for a good while, admiring the pattern on the underside of her fluke whenever she went for a longer dive, most likely feeding near the bottom. As our time was soon running out, we decided to do a loop, to see who else might have been attracted to this feeding area, and we soon saw a sharp, dark fin slicing through the waves. Before we even saw this cetacean surface next we saw a very curious, adorable little face peeking back at us from just beneath the surface, a white-beaked dolphin! At first, it was just this individual, who appeared to be quite small and young, but then the rest of the pod joined, with 3 dolphins circling us, fascinated by the engines. They took some nice close looks at us, even performed a couple of leaps right beside us, what a treat! As we were getting ready to leave, turning the engines up seemed to really peak their interest, and they once again started swarming around us, bow-riding and surfing in our wake. Once they were done playing with our boat, we made our way back towards Reykjavík. What a fun tour!

Crew: Captain Raggi & Guide Orsi

13:00 - The sunshine continued in the afternoon, giving us a beautiful sail out into the bay. After a morning full of wonderful sightings, we all were eager to see which whales were waiting for us now. Soon, we came across some small fins in the water - it was a pod of 6 white beaked dolphins! The group started bow riding by another boat next to us, and then they came over to us, surfacing just by our side and even enabling us to observe their white beaks up close. However the dolphins soon took off, so we did the same. After sailing a little bit further, we spotted a tall blow from a humpback whale. This individual turned out to be one of the same whales that we had spent time with in the morning, and we could watch it perform some beautiful fluke dives just by our side. Suddenly, a minke whale showed up, although it soon swam off again. We continued on to find a pod of 5 harbour porpoises that seemed to enjoy the great feeding area we had seemed to enter. We could watch them sweetly surface a few times around the boat, which made us all smile. A little further away, we stopped to watch a puffling that was floating on the surface, ready to take on its 3-4 year journey out at sea before coming back to Iceland to find a life partner. As we continued on our sail, we came across another humpback whale. We stopped to watch some more fluke dives, and suddenly a minke whale also entered he area. We watched the two whales surface a few more times, before heading back to the harbour, full of excitement after such an abundant tour with all four of our main species spotted.

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Maja, Captain Miquel & Guide Lefteris

15:00 - This afternoon, the sun was still shining bright, keeping us nice and toasty, with a cool breeze making for very comfortable conditions out on the bay. We headed deep into Faxaflói bay, and soon spotted signs of a large whale nearby. As we were waiting for this whale to surface, we saw tiny dark brown bodies all around, a pod of 4 harbour porpoises foraging near our boat. The smallest and most shy out of the 4 main species spotted here, we were delighted whenever we could catch glimpses of them. Soon, the whale we were looking for surfaced nearby, it was none other than Niela the humpback whale. Being so well-known and well-loved here, we are always very excited to see her. As we were following her, admiring her majestic fluke dives, we soon spotted another blow of in the distance, another humpback whale. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, Niela breached in front of us! What a spectacular display of power! The two humpbacks seemed to be moving closer and closer together, eventually meeting up and surfacing and diving synchronously. What a beautiful sight to see these two gentle giants meet up and start swimming together in front of our very eyes. With a final fluke dive from them, we waved them goodbye and made our way back towards Reykjavík, seeing 3 more pods of 3-4 harbour porpoises scattered around. What a magical afternoon!

Crew: Captain Raggi & Guide Orsi

16:00 - We sailed out under calm seas, excited to see what the ocean had in store for us. Our first sighting was a beautiful humpback whale, slowly surfacing in the distance. Not long after, we came across a pod of seven white beaked dolphins. They were active and playful, making for a wonderful encounter before we continued our search. Then, to make the tour even more special, we found Naila, the humpback whale we have been lucky enough to see here for the past seven years. Seeing her once again was a truly special moment.On this tour harbour porpoises were everywhere! Throughout the whole tour, we estimate that we saw more than 30 porpoises  popping up all around us and giving us plenty of little surprises along the way. With a humpback whale, seven white-beaked dolphins, Naila, and more than 30 harbour porpoises, it was a fantastic day on the water. Another beautiful tour, and another reminder of just how incredible the wildlife around us can be.

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Maja, Captain Miquel & Guide Lefteris

19:00 - We sailed out under calm seas and clear skies, heading towards the open waters.Our first sighting was a pod of five harbour porpoises small, beautiful, and always a joy to see. Not long after, we spotted a few blows in the distance and decided to go and investigate. And what a surprise it was! Not one, but four humpback whales were nearby, in an aria less than a mile distanse . The sighting became even more special when a white beaked dolphin joined Naila, the humpback whale we have been seeing here for the past seven years. The two of them were peacefully feeding together for quite some time. At one point, Naila seemed to be anoyed by the dolphin's presence and suddenly surprised us all with a little peduncle throw! It was such a beautiful and unexpected moment. After this amazing encounter, Naila rolled at the surface, and we slowly started making our way back to port, incredibly happy with the experience we had just witnessed. To finish the tour perfectly, we were treated to beautiful pink skies over the ocean. What an unforgettable day out on the water!

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Lefteris