SATURDAY, 1 FEBRUARY 2020

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 13:00

Report from Eldey: What an amazing afternoon we had out in Faxaflói bay. The cruise started with the mid day sunlight of the spring is about to come, and we are feeling it already. Snow-capped Esja was welcoming everyone on board for a wonderful ride. As we were getting into the bay we started spotting the first big flocks of birds (fulmars and common guillemots mainly), giving us hope on the search. First we saw an elusive harbour porpoise that seemed to be in a hurry somewhere, but shortly after that quick encounter a pod of 10-13 white beaked dolphins joined our transect. The started jumping out of the water, and the show went on from that point on. The pod split into two, one having a more relaxed behaviour but the other individuals were quite active, feeding, playing, jumping... The encounter lasted for more than half an hour since the dolphins seem to enjoy our presence, actively chasing us and bow riding our vessel. A very nice tour under very nice conditions.

-Raul Zabala Belenguer

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 9:00

Report from Eldey: Finally! The tour this morning was beautiful. First we watched the sun rise over the snow-capped mountains behind Reykjavík, we can blue skies with wispy cirrus clouds and calm seas. It was bitterly cold but it was worth it for the beauty. After 40 mins we found a pod of 3 white-beaked dolphins, then soon another pod of 7 came to join in the fun. Young individuals were playing around the boat and we could follow them easily without disturbing them for a long time. They actually looked to be enjoying our company as we were theirs. We left them in peace after maybe 30-40 minutes and went to an area of plentiful birdlife. Here we had a great look at a large pod of harbour porpoises. This was the main species we were seeing for the next 20 minutes with pods popping up everywhere and in the end we must have seen at least 50 individuals. They are a very tricky species to photograph due to their size, elusiveness and speed but we were lucky to get a few good ones. On the way home some we enjoyed the warm of the indoor saloons and the hot chocolate and a bit of music. Perfect end to the first 9am tour of 2020. 

- Megan Whittaker

Birds seen on todays tour include; greater black-backed gulls, northern gannets, northern fulmars, common guillemots, European shags, black-headed gulls, eider ducks.

We are sailing from the Old Harbour in Reykjavík today. there could always be some movement out on the bay, so if your are prone to sea sickness we have sea sickness tablets available at our ticket office. 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.