15:00 - In the afternoon, the wind had picked up a bit, so the swell had picked up a little, and spotting conditions were a bit more challenging with white caps ahead. The setting sun was keeping us nice and toasty, so the crisp wind was very pleasant. We had quite a ways to go, we headed deep into the bay. On our way, we spotted two separate minke whales, admiring their pointy snouts and curved dorsal fins as they came up for breaths. We got to see a couple surfacing sequences from both before we continued on in hopes of finding more activity. We soon came across an area with a lot of excited seabirds scattered around, clearly feeding and chasing each other for their catch. It was clear there was a lot of food in this area, so we were hopeful that the commotion attracted some larger marine predators. We soon spotted a blow nearby, a humpback whale! As we made our way over, this whale went for a fluke dive, and though we were very patient and waited for it for many minutes, we didn't get to see this individual surface again, clearly it had very important whale business to get to beneath the waves. But, lucky for us, we soon had our eyes on another blow further away, and we made our way over to find another, very calm, restful (possibly sleepy) humpback. Not just any humpback, it was Niela, a very well know and well-loved humpback in Faxaflói! She was looking quite sleepy, logging at the surface, coming up for frequent breaths and she refused to show off her fluke (after which she is named), though she didn't really need to fluke dive, as she was always chilling near the surface. We stayed with her, watching her most likely have a lovely afternoon nap, until our time ran out and we had to start making our way back towards the harbour. What a relaxing afternoon tour.
Crew: Captain Kylie & Guide Orsi, Captain Miquel & Guide Maja
