✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE| 20:30
Report from Elding: It was a cloudy evening but still clouds remained largely dry and the wind we had just last night was taking a break. Accordingly, we had a very calm sea and great visibility. This lead to us spotting the smallest of all whale species we get to see in Iceland, the adorable harbour porpoises. Although usually shy, they were clearly visible and just travelled across our path. Not much further out we encountered a beautiful minke whale. It was so relaxed and as it surfaced calmly underneath the setting sun, we turned off the engines and enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere. After a pleasantly long time with this individual, we sailed on, searching for more animals, maybe even another species. And just as we were nearly back in the harbour a pod of 5 white-beaked dolphins appeared out of nowhere, chasing fish, jumping and bow riding. Clearly not tired at all it looked so beautiful watching them as the sun was almost asleep. Even another minke whale showed itself this close to land! Whales sleepless in Faxaflói tonight.
- Sigurlaug
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE| 17:00
Report from Eldey: We had an amazing tour this evening. It was raining lightly the whole time but the sea was so smooth it was truly calm and pleasant to be out on faxaflói bay. We first encountered a small pod of 3 harbour porpoises. We continued our trip until we arrived in a area with a lot of seabirds. There was 3 minke whales feeding. We stopped the boat and enjoyed their company for almost 2 incredible hours. It was a spectacular show, the whales surfacing sometimes really close from the boat. We saw one of those cetaceans lunge-feeding right next to us. During the way back we also saw a pod of 4-5 white-beaked dolphins. We all left the boat with a big smile on our face!
-Miquel Pons
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE| 14:00
Report from Hafsúlan: Sailing out this afternoon the clouds that had been threatening us this morning began to drizzle slightly. So most of us on board decided to go in Elding fashion and wearing red overalls to remain dry. Just past Grótta we spotted a pod of 7 white-beaked dolphins. Three of them showed themselves quite well, obviously milling, a resting behaviour. The other part was with a calf, a baby, and felt better staying at a distance which we of course respected to the fullest. As we did not want to disturb for to long, we continued after about 20 minutes, sailing past some harbour porpoises and aiming to an area where we had been reported of a minke whale sighting. Sure enough, we found not only this individual, but a second and third feeding there amidst flocks of seagulls, puffins and gannets. As we approached it and began to understand it's movements, we got some nicely close surfaces of one of the whales. It is always exciting when you see not only the whales but as many birds as we saw today, feeding as well. It shows how the bay is thriving. Overall, despite the rain, another successful tour.
- Elena Gutièrrez
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE| 13:00
Report from Eldey: Our ride was sprinkled with a bit of light refreshing rain. That did not make our tour less enjoyable. In fact most of our passengers stayed outside and only a few felt the need to use our overalls, as it felt so warm at the outside deck. The mist surrounding the landscape enhanced the mystic aura that instigated all Icelandic folk stories. Everybody felt quite accomplished with this tour. We were able to see a pod of around 5 white beaked dolphins and 3 minke whales. All animals were foraging by the time we got to them. That does not surprise us since our bay represents an important feeding grounds for these giants of the sea. Another ride to remember!
- Inês Cunha
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE| 10:00
Report from Hafsúlan: What a calm morning after the stormy night yesterday. Despite clouds covering the sky, we had a scenic view of the peninsulas surrounding Faxaflói. Best thing about todays tour though? The wildlife of course! Just past the lighthouse Grótta, there was a minke whale feeding, coming up every 3-4 minutes to breathe and moving around the area in circles. We stayed with it and as we watched it suddenly were distracted by a pod of 11 white-beaked dolphins that were also approaching Grótta but in a super playful way. They had 4 juveniles in the group that just behaved like teenagers do, extremely energetic, doing very high jumps over and over. An absolute bliss that lead to much laughter on board. Dolphins, whales, laughter and joy - perfect tour in my opinion.
- Sabrina Voswinkel
✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE| 9:00
Report from Eldey: Today the sea was really smooth. The sky was mostly covered by clouds but it was warm enough to stay outside during the three hours. We didn't had a lot of wind even if it has been picking up a little bit during the tour. We had really soon our first encounter of the day. A big pod of at least 10 white-beaked dolphins, It is so pleasant to begin the day with those smart and beautifull animals! We stayed a nice moment with those toothed whales that seems to be busy fishing in the bay. We continue our tour further until we found 2 minke whales. They were next to flocks of birds. There is probably a lot of food supplies in the bay right know and all those animals are sharing a feast! We saw a lot of northern gannets plunge-diving, an impressive behaviour from those big and majestic seabirds. When it is like this, three hours are too short !
-Miquel Pons
Birds seen today: atlantic puffin, northern fulmar, northern gannet, kittiwake, common guillemot, eider duck.
We are sailing from the Old Harbour in Reykjavík today.If you are prone to getting sea sick, we do have sea sickness tablets available free of charge at the office and on board. 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.
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