✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 17:00
Report from Hafsúlan: Wind and waves have been picking up throughout the day, but the sun was still shining strong as earlier, helping us stay warm against the north-easterly winds. We aimed to the area where on our previous tour we had success in spotting a whale, but it apparently had moved elsewhere within the last hours. Thus, we continued our search heading towards the eastern peninsula, Snaefellsness, and along it's coastline. Not only did we get shelter from the waves here, but also we had a very scenic view of the landscape from here. Despite all eyes on the water, no whales were sighted during this tour, quite surprising after our successful previous tours. But as this is wildlife, of course sightings can never be guaranteed. However, everyone was offered a complimentary ticket for another chance at getting to see one or more marine mammals here in Faxaflói.
-Miquel Pons
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 14:00
Report from Elding: With more sunshine and at least as much wind and waves like the previous tour, we started out again into Faxafloi Bay. As beautiful as the weather was, as was our encounters with cetaceans on this tour. The first minke whale we encountered was very shy, so we continued our search for more and finally fot to see the second minke of our tour, this time more active. The animal kept surfacing around the boat, once coming really close, so we could see the white band on its pectoral fin through the water surface. It was a very special encounter for all passengers. And for those who stayed with me outside when returning to the harbour, they were the lucky ones to also see a pod of 2-3 harbour porpoises, breaching in the midst of a flock of feeding arctic terns. Again, a very special tour with a lot of smiles leaving our boat.
-Christina Winkler
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 13:00
Report from Hafsúlan: Another Icelandic adventure out at sea. Strong winds were blowing around our noses this afternoon, but luckily the sun was out as well. We saw splashes in the distance after searching the bay for some time. It was a small pod of 2-3 white-beaked dolphins, however, the animals were rather elusive once we got closer and we left them in peace. Facing the winds again we headed further out and soon saw more splashes from another pod of 6-8 white-beaked dolphins feeding together with a group of arctic terns. These individuals were more playful and came up very close to the boat and we could enjoy their company for a while. Once the dolphins were gone we saw a blow nearby and had the pleasure of seeing 2 minke whales surface a few times. A nice way to finish this sunny tour.
- Diana Besel
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 10:00
Report from Elding: We left the harbor under bright skies and against insistent northern winds. Though it was not the smoothest ride it didn’t hold our passengers back from enjoying the tour on our outside deck! As we crossed an area with strong bird activity (indicating the possible presence of whales and dolphins’ prey) we found a minke whale! This one was very illusive, but as we were trying to keep track of it we spotted another large blow. Acording to shape and size of the blow it was most likely from a humpback whale! We chased it down but the animal ended up goin for a deeper dive, which usually means a few minutes of waiting until it resurfaces. As we were waiting for it 2 very curious and cheerful white beaked dolphins approached our vessel! They showed up really close to us, letting all our passengers had more than just a proper look at them!
- Inês Cunha
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | at 9:00
Report from Hafsúlan: The day has started very well with our 9 a.m. tour. We had good sea conditions and the sky was only slightly covered by clouds. With the visibily we had, we were even able to see the steam going up from near the blue lagoon during the whole trip. After an hour at sea in Faxaflói we reached an area with a lot of bird activity and got lucky to observe 2 minke whales surfacing several times while feeding there. We were so happy to see one of them quietly approach to the boat, before going for a deeper dive. A few moments later we had the opportunity to watch a playfull pod of 6-8 white beaked dolphins: Some of them were jumping out of the water and, just moments later, they came so close to us and began bow riding and swimming just next to the boat. With them was a very cute calf! Such a good morning trip !
-Miquel Pons and Sabrina Voswinkel
Birds seen today: atlantic puffin, arctic skua, northern gannet, eider duck, common gull, common guillemot, little auk, northern fulmar, razorbill
We are sailing from the Old Harbour in Reykjavík today at 9:00, 10:00, 13:00, 14:00 & 17:00. There could always be some movement out on the sea, so if you are prone to seasickness we have some seasickness tablets free of charge at our ticket office. The sun is shining, but make sure to dress warmly and make use of our warm overalls as it is always colder on sea than on land. For more information contact us by email elding@elding.is or by phone +354 519 5000.
