THURSDAY, 15 AUGUST 2019

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 19:00

Report from Elding: The tour began with warm sun that casted beautiful light over Reykjavik and the mountains. The first animals appeared after just 10 minutes of sailing, those were 3-4 harbour porpoises. On our way out we saw two other pods with 2 harbour porpoises. We could practice our spotting skills on these small and quick animals. Far out we enjoyed watching large flocks of northern gannets diving actively after prey. The highlight was a minke whale that gave us a nice show as it traveled slowly further north. It even surfaced a few times so close to the boat that we managed to both hear it and smell its breath. On the way back we enjoyed the sunset with nice tunes. 

-Sigurlaug Sigurdardottir

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 17:00

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 14:00

Report from Hafsulán: The clouds covered the skies on this tour and the rain was menacingly drifting all over the bay, but we were lucky and avoided it. We were also lucky with the wildlife, seeing a pod of 5-7 white-beaked dolphins just 20 minutes out of the harbour. They were all over us... Giving us a great foto opportunity and the cause for delighted sighs of children we had on board. It was time to move on and so we did. It did not come so hard for us, since soon after we stumbled upon an area where there were maybe 7 minke whales in the broader area. It was a fantastic day to observe the calm minke whales that swam in every direction we looked. At times, some of them were even 20-30 m away from us... Very cool tour with nice scenery around to accompany the wildlife. I was especially happy that it was a very successful one for the sake of the little whale lovers on board; even though they were small and had to wear the mandatory kid's life jacket, their questions were the smartest ones I've had in a while and it was a pleasure to try to answer them.

-Lucas Heinrich

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 13:00

Report from Eldey: Finally the weather was calming down, it was beautiful and sunny and the sea conditions were just perfect. As we were sailling past the islands close to the harbour, we encountered 2-3 harbour porpoises! They were quite visible in these conditions so we saw them properly but continued on our way out in search for other animals. A little while later we entered an area where we had about 4-5 minke whales feeding all around us! Some of them got very close to us and we got to stay with them for a while. In this same area we found even more porpoises, or around 4-6 individuals. This tour was truly amazing and we enjoyed having the warm and calm weather back!

-Kristín Viðja
 

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 10:00

Report from Elding: Wow! Such a nice day! Flat seas, the sun shining and no wind. Just the ideal weather conditions to have a relaxed and calm trip. We were sailing throughout Faxafloi bay, just enjoying a calm and beautiful day, admiring the mountains and the sea birds that were flying around us. Once we were quite far away from Reykjavik, a black shape appeared in the distance. Once we got to the area, we were amazed to discover that we were literally surrounded by, at least, 5 minke whales! They were feeding all around us, surfacing next to our boat and showing us their beautiful colours. It was magical! We left these minke whales after more than half an hour to start heading back to the harbour, after an amazing sighting. In the way back a really nice pod of 5-6 harbour porpoises appeared in front of us, with their small and cute bodies surfacing again and again. It was the perfect way to start the day!

-Elena Gutiérrez Ruiz

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 09:00

Report from Eldey: Finally a ride over flat seas! The last few days our waters have been testing our sea legs. Today though, we barely felt the boat moving, which provided quite an enjoyable trip.  About one hour after we left the harbour we got to an area where we got to enjoy 6 minke whales. These beautiful giants were a bit spread out through the area, so we had to move around in order to see them as close as possible. Since these animals seemed to be quite comfortable around us, we could stay there until the point where we had to return to the harbour. Another ride to remember.

- Inês Cunha

Birds seen on todays tours include: Atlantic puffin, arctic tern, northern gannet, northern fulmar, common guillemot, lesser black backed gull, eider duck, great skua.