Whale Diary

10:00 - This morning we gathered on our rain gear and set out onto the bay! It did not take too long until we came across a pod of 15 white beaked dolphins. They were very playful and swam right up and under our boat. They even started jumping, which was very nice to be able to see their entire bodies above the surface. After having a great time with our dolphins we waved them goodbye to see who else was around. Shortly after we saw a blow of one  humpback whale. This humpback not only gave us a really nice view of their fluke right away, but also got a bit sleepy. It was resting just under the surface which allowed for a longer duration of viewing, simply wonderful. While waiting for this humpback to resurface, a different solitary humpback came up to say hello to us! After one surface interval this humpback said goodbye to us and so on we went. We saved the best for last, as shortly after we came up  to a feeding frenzy with not one, not two, but three humpback whales solitary feeding in the same location! The birds were diving down looking for a free meal, which allowed us to easily track where our three humpbacks were. This was amazing as we had continuous sightings of humpbacks. After spending multiple surface sequences and seeing flukes galore, we waved our whales goodbye and headed back to port. On our way back, however, one  minke whale decided to stop us in our tracks and say hello. After three really clear surface sequences our elusive minke waved goodbye and so we bundled up and headed back to port. With three species sighted and humpbacks galore, it was a great start to the day!

Crew: Captain Emily & Guide Sam, Captain Óðinn & Guide Maria

12:00 - As we headed out this afternoon, the rain from the morning had stopped. Everyone was excited to find some cetaceans, so straight into the bay we went! It did not take us long until we spotted our first blow from a humpback whale in the distance. As everyone looked in its direction we could see it going for a beautiful fluke dive. This individual seemed to be feeding, and we stayed around a little to watch it come up for some breaths at the surface. We then spotted another blow a little further out, so we headed over to have a closer look of that one. On our way over, a pod of about 10 white beaked dolphins suddenly swam up next to us! We could clearly watch their grey and white coloration as they swam close to the surface around us. They even made some jumps out of the water! As we got to the humpback whale, the dolphins had followed and swam right up to the humpback whale and seemed to be very playful. It was a wonderful sight of two of our main species just in the same spot! After some time here, we kept going to see what else we could find in the bay today. Not far away, we suddenly spotted two more blows right next to each other. These came from the mother and calf that we have been lucky to spot during the past week. As we slowly approached, the calf swam right in our direction with the mother following right behind. We closed the engines, and suddenly heard a loud exhale. They came right up to us, and the curious calf did some spy hopping to check us out. At one point the whales swam just underneath the boat, and we could clearly see their strikingly white pectoral fins under the surface. It really is a jaw dropping feeling when these large animals gift us with coming so close. After some time with this strong-bonded duo, we let them travel on and we started making our way back. On our way, we suddenly saw the dorsal fin of a minke whale breaking the surface in front of us. We stopped to watch as the individual came up snout first to take a breath just next to us. The whale travelled on and we headed to one of the puffin islands to observe the charming little birds up close, before we made our way back to the harbor. As we got back, everyone were smiling of joy after such lovely sightings. 

Crew: Captain Pedro & Guide Maja

14:00 -This afternoon the sea was a little choppy with wind and light rain as we left Reykjavík. After sailing about half an hour we got word of whales in the bay — and soon we spotted two tall blows ahead. They were humpback whales! We watched as they surfaced and fluked, then noticed even more blows on the horizon. We made our way there, but before we even arrived, a whale breached with a huge splash! It breached a few more times, before calming down. We went to check out some other around us we counted at least 8–10 humpbacks, scattered across the bay, feeding and fluking. Just as we finally turned back toward the harbor, two big splashes caught our eye — two whales breaching right in front of us! We hurried over just in time to see one breach a couple more times, along with some powerful peduncle throws. On the way back to Reykjavík we made a short stop at Akurey to watch the puffins on the cliffs — a wonderful way to end such an incredible afternoon on the water.

Crew: Captain Emily & Guide Sam, Captain Óðinn & Guide Maria

16:00 - This afternoon we headed out under overcast skies as we left the harbor. But bundled up in hats and overalls we were ready to go out to find some whales. We headed to the same location as this morning as we had been seeing a lot there already today. Sure enough, after roughly 30 minutes we saw the dorsal fin of a minke whale pop up in front of the boat. And just behind it in the distance we spotted the blow of a humpback whale! As the minke whale seemed a bit shy, we headed over to the humpback whale who was feeding in the area. We stayed to watch it go for some dives, then we took a new direction as we spotted two other blows of feeding humpbacks a bit further out. We observed these individuals go for some synchronized dives, and then we continued on until we saw even more blows around. Two next to each other struck our interest in particular as we had seen the mother and calf duo earlier this morning. When we got closer we recognized it was them, and watched as they swam up very close to our boat - the young calf taking the lead, and the mother close behind. Her exhale was strikingly loud, and we watched as they made some shallow dives. This area was very active, as we started spotting more blows around. Three more humpback whales showed up in the distance behind us, and we could also see the two adults we had seen previously joining another humpback whale to feed. As we decided it was time to leave the mother and calf be, we took off to see what else we could find. Suddenly, a pod of about 15 white beaked dolphins showed up next to us jumping and being playful all around the boat. We stayed with them for a while, until we saw a big splash further out. It was a breaching humpback whale! We swiftly headed over and watched as it breached a couple of more times, just next to us. It was very powerful, and everyone was very amazed - what a perfect way to finish the tour! On our way beck we also stopped by one of the puffin breeding islands to watch thousands of puffins on the cliffs and on the water. What a spectacular afternoon!         

Crew: Captain Pedro & Guide Maja

20:00 - What an amazing tour! We headed out into Faxaflói Bay with a bit of swell and rain, but it didn’t matter — it actually made it feel even more adventurous. After about half an hour sailing, we spotted some blows way off in the distance. As we got closer, we realized we were completely surrounded by humpback whales feeding! There must have been over 20 of them, with blows and flukes in every direction. It was wild. At one point we even saw a mother and her calf, and the mother was bubble-net feeding super close to the boat — that was incredible. We didn’t even have to move much, the whales just kept showing up and fluking all around us like we were right in the middle of the action. Some white beaked dolphins also showed up and some minke whales in the distance. Eventually it was time to head back, but everyone was super happy! Such an unforgettable experience!

Crew: Captain Emily & Guide Maria