Whale Diary

10:00 - The ocean laid flat as a mirror today with almost no wind and the sun was shining on us. We started off with some beautiful puffins at Akurey before heading out. After quite a bit of drive we found some curved dorsal fins belonging to a pod of around 5 white beaked dolphins. They were traveling alongside us and we got some nice views of them in these pristine conditions that we had. When we left the dolphins, another kind of dorsal fin appeared. This was a minke whale. It surfaced a few times and we got a good look at it. As we left this individual alone we stumbled across another minke whale. A little bit shy as minke whales sometimes are, but we still got to see it many times. As we sailed home we came across a third minke whale. This one surfaces parallel to us so we really got to see big parts of the body which was very nice. A lovely day out at sea!

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Frida, Captain Emily & Guide Anna

12:00 - Conditions were still great when we headed out at noon. As we were admiring the puffins, we also noticed a black-backed gull feeding on a lumpfish. After a bit we headed into the bay and found a group of harbor porpoises. Two of them passed quite closely by the boat and we saw at least four more scattered in the area. Not long after that, we noticed something floating on the surface. As we got closer we realised it was a birthday balloon. Because marine litter can be quite harmful to wildlife, we took it out of the water and brought it back to shore to dispose of it properly. Combating pollution even in small instances like this can go a long way. It is always a good deed to remove litter from nature or even better prevent it from entering natural places. We continued on and inspected some seabirds as there were a lot of them around. We also talked about the surrounding landscape as we enjoyed our smooth trip at sea. Towards the end of the trip, we found a minke whale too! We observed it a few times before it was time to return to sea. It was a very lovely trip!

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Hannah

14:00 - The conditions were so pristine today. However, the bay was really quiet this afternoon. We kept driving and covering a large area to hopefully stumble upon something. There was quite a lot of bird activity out, but nothing in terms of whales. We did see about 4 harbour porpoises coming quite close to the boat, and two more pods a bit later with about the same pod size. It was nice to observe them in this still water. Although this encounter was beautiful, it still does not compare to bigger species and the tour became complimentary.

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Frida

16:00 - Later in the afternoon, we tried our luck again. After checking out the puffins, we sailed out into the bay with our eyes open and our minds alert. We did pass by a harbour porpoise, but we decided to move on as they are so shy. We continued searching and eventually reached an area in which we saw two more harbour porpoises close to a big flock of birds. We also found a minke whale in the area! The animals were however busy doing their own thing and a bit tricky to observe. This was when we received information about white beaked dolphins in the bay. We followed the information and were happy to see three dolphins swimming around the boat. This was definitely the highlight of the day! After this we had to head back but everyone was very delighted about how interactive the dolphins were!

Crew: Captain Ótto & Guide Hannah

20:00 - A great big cloud had rolled over when we set out into Faxaflói once again, showering us in rain and fog. Despite this, the sea remained unmoving and we glided over the near-glassy water as we searched the bay for signs of life. First, we made a stop at Akurey island and said hello to our puffin friends before we ventured further out. Many birds were out and about, and we stopped near some whilst searching for the cetaceans that call Faxaflói home. The rain had picked up at this point, so we were all quite wet! After searching for over an hour with no signs of whales, we began making our way back to the harbour when we noticed some unusual ripples on the surface near us. Suddenly, a pod of four white-beaked dolphins popped up right next to us! We stayed with them for a moment, and one dolphin made a quick swim-by to check out our boat! Then they dove, disappearing into the deep, and we did not see them again. At this point, we were running late, so we said goodbye and made our way back to the harbour. As we did not see large whales, complimentary tickets were offered.

Crew: Captain Gulli & Guide Sigrún