Whale Diary

10:00 - We sailed out in quite a bit of rain, but as time went by it became more of a light drizzle. The conditions were overall favorable with rather calm seas. After what felt like a rather short ride, a big spout appeared and it happened to be a humpback whale. It was a nice and easy whale to watch since it came up to the surface very frequently and it was moving calmly. It showed its beautiful tail fluke on multiple dives. The tour carried on in search for more animals and not far away we encountered another humpback whale. Again, very nice to follow and did gorgeous fluke dives. The tour ended with yet a third humpback whale that we spent some time with. The bay seemed very much alive this morning. What a lovely day out at sea!

Crew: Captain Reynar & Guide Milan, Captain Miquel & Guide Frida

12:00 - Our first afternoon tour departed at around lunch time, with smooth seas. The rain had stopped and, as it was lunch time, very few boats were out in the bay. We spent some minutes at Engey island, where we saw puffins and other birds (including a few herring gull harassing a puffin, who luckily, managed to escape). Then, we set coarse to the waters of the bay were we often expect to fin whales. There, we had a first sighting of a minke whale, followed by another sighting of the same species. Both minkes were foraging for food and surfaced by our boat, providing us some very nice sightings of them. For our third whale, we found a new, larger species, that is, a humpback whale. The humpback was swimming very calmly, likely sleeping, and we were very glad to experience this wonderful moment with this giant. As we headed back to Reykjavík, it started raining again, so our overall suits could be put to some good use!

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Ricardo

14:00 - It was a really wet tour today, but a good one! The rain was showering us quite a lot but our spirits remained high regardless. After a bit of a drive we noticed a big spout in a distance, belonging to a humpback whale. It was a very nice and calm encounter with repeated fluke dives and it frequently came to the surface with dive times of about only three minutes. When we were about to leave the area it gave us a tail slap that really showed us the beauty and sheer size of the fluke, really impressive. The tour continued in search for other whales and we found another humpback whale. We enjoyed this individual for quite a bit before it was time to say goodbye and head back to the harbor. 

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Frida

16:00 - The rain had, once again, stopped, and unlike during the previous tours, it remained dry until the end of the tour. As usual, we started the tour with some nice puffin sightings and visited their breeding colony in Engey island. There, we saw many other birds that would be present throughout the tour, such as kittiwakes and northern fulmars. We then headed Southwest to search for whales. While searching, one of our passengers spotted a large splash, far over the horizon. As we approached the area, it became clear that it was a humpback whale, breaching multiple times. It breached once more, while we were close to it, as well as surfacing and diving multiple times. We could see plenty other breaches around us, although far in the horizon. We visited two more of these humpback whales, who were travelling together as a pair, before turning and heading back to Reykjavík, happy for the nice sightings (and dry overralls)!!

Crew: Captain Miquel & Guide Frida, Captain Megan & Guide Ricardo

20:00 - We still had some drizzle this evening but that did not hold us back to go out there one last time. We first said hello to the puffins and then went further out in search of our beloved whales. We were then quickly surprised by a big splash! a breach! and then another one! A Humpback whale leapt out no less than twice far in the distance and while that was also the last we ever saw of this whale, we got not disappointed as we had close encounters with 4 more humpbacks! The first 2 came in pair, frantically feeding going back and forth rapidly, showing off their flukes many times! So was number three; feeding in its own little area. Number four was a bit more elusive and so we left it rather quickly. Time was running out so we started heading back but then we had a little encore in shape of a brief encounter with 3 White-beaked dolphins! what a night!

Crew: Captain Megan & Guide Milan