Species seen today: Humpback whale, minke whale, white-beaked dolphin, harbour porpoise

Birds seen today: Atlantic puffin, fulmar, cormorant, black-legged kittiwake, herring gull, manx shearwater, iceland gull, great black-backed gull, lesser black-backed gull, razorbill, common guillemot, black guillemot

10:00 - We had a beautiful day ahead of us, with no waves or wind, a typical non-Icelandic day! We passed by Akurey to check on the puffins before heading to the middle of Faxaflói. After about 30 minutes we saw a few fins of 6 or 7 minke whales very close to a huge flock of birds. In the middle of it, we saw our first puffling of the season! A couple of minutes passed and we saw 4 white-beaked dolphins that played a little bit with the boat but were too shy to continue. A bit further in the distance we had a glimpse of a blow, we went there to investigate and it was a humpback whale! It was doing very nice fluke dives and in one of its appearances, it show up right on our side! We could almost high-five it!! A scary but awesome event! Our time was over and so we got back safe and sound to the old harbour.

Crew: Captain Einar & Guide Pedro

12:00 - It was a very smooth ride in the bay even with sunshine ! As we made our way out we first stopped by an area where we could see a lot of birds on the surface, we found there quite a few minke whales. There was at least 5 to 10 around us that we could see popping up at a distance. After these lovely minke whales we spotted 3 white beaked dolphins, we could observe them for a few moments before they decided to head away from us. And then amongst the minkes we saw a humpback whale, an individual we know as Aang that was traveling very fast, but we could still get some sights of its nice body and tail as it went down for deeper dives. We then decided to continue a bit and saw much more minke whales, 10 to 20 more around, including one vertical feeding quite close to us that we could see its mouth and white on its belly. It was very cool to see. In this area we even crossed path again with the same humpback whale as previously. We saw the humpback once more and decided to start our way back toward the harbour. On our way back we stopped in an area named Marflo where we had minke whales surrounding us once again, and a lot very close, so much that we could distinctly hear their breath everywhere. In the middle of these minke whales appeared 2 harbour porpoises. We stayed for a bit more observing these very cool minkes and headed back to port.

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Mélanie

14:00 - The weather was amazing, no wind or waves, we just needed a whale or two now! After passing by Engey to see the gorgeous puffins on their nesting grounds. We set sail to the bay in order to find some activity. We had a few encounters with 5 or 6 minke whales, and one of them came almost to touching distance from us! Lots of birds were in the area and so lots of food too! We were hopeful that something bigger would show up. And it did, a humpback whale that was a bit shy but it showed its fluke a few times, always a 10/10! We stayed with it for a while, but we heard the news of another one a bit closer to shore and so we went. We got there and the whale dived and it never showed up, maybe it was trying to beat the diving record. Oh well, time was up and the sun was amazing, so we got back to Reykjavík so our passengers could enjoy the city on this amazing day!

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Pedro; Captain Daniel & Guide Miquel

16:00 - We went in the same area where we found the whales earlier, after a stop in Akurey to see the puffins. Aang the humpback whale was still there feeding surrounded by thousands of birds and 7-10 minke whales. We stayed there enjoying the fluke dives of the humpback and surprised everytime a minke was surfacing close to us. We could also smell their stinky breath a few times. We explored a bit the surrounding of the area but did not get any luck so we came back to see the minkes again before heading back to the harbour under a beautiful sunshine. The sea was a bit more choppy than this morning but still very pleasant to sail on.

Crew: Captain Daniel and Guide Miquel

20:00 - After a stop in Engey to see the Atlantic puffins close to their burrow we went out. The sea was still quite calm and nice to sail on. We went to the same area than today and it was still full of birds. There was also 4-5 minke whales that were surfacing sometimes far, sometimes close. We observed them for a while and left to explore other areas, try to find other species. We went further out and north but ony crossed a beautiful sailing boat from the Netherlands. We came back to see the minkes again and saw a very small one! We were out of time so we came back to the harbour and had some fun close to Reykjavik.

Crew: Captain Eggert and Guide Miquel