FRIDAY, 7 AUGUST 2020

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 13:00

Report from Elding: The afternoon started with just a little drizzle of rain and winds that were still calm but meant to be picking up throughout the tour. With that in mind, we aimed directly for where we had been seeing a lot of activity in the morning. After a little over an hour we spotted the first minke whale. This animal was rather elusive, we only saw it for one breathing sequence. Luckily, northern gannets again lead us into the right direction, as we saw them diving about a mile ahead. Once in that area, at least 3 different minke whales were around, one coming close to us in a relaxed way, the others a bit further away. As they were feeding, they surfaced and went for dives regularly and to our luck, while they were underwater we always had northern gannets, puffins and other birds to keep us entertained. Just as we were about to leave, one of the minkes came wonderfully close, giving us a last great look before we made our way back to Reykjavik.

- Lucas Heinrich

✔ TOUR ON SCHEDULE | 09:00

Report from Elding: Cloudy cloudy weather continues to prevail in Faxaflói. The sea calmed down a bit from yesterday afternoon, and so did the wind, making this a relatively mild tour when it comes to environmental factors. We headed more towards the southern part of Faxabay, with the aim of covering a larger area. After being on the lookout for more than an hour, we finally spotted something, feeding northern gannets leading us in the right direction. Under dozens of these magnificent birds there was a pod of 12-15 white-beaked dolphins that were in hot pursuit of their prey. One younger individual was very playful and was leaping out of the water. It is however possible that it was stunning the fish below it in this manner. The dolphins stayed with us for some time, but time came to leave and try to find something else. Not much after we left the area we spotted a minke whale. The animal was feeding and changing direction very frequently. Still, we managed to admire the slick dark figure of the minke whale as it was passing by the boat, at times as close as 30 meters away from us. We saw two more whales of the same species, bringing it to a tour total of 3 minke whales. A great experience for our guests and another great day at the office for the crew.

- Sabrina Voswinkel

Birds seen on today’s tours include: atlantic puffin, manx shearwater, common guillemot, arctic skua, northern gannet, kittiwake, black-backed gull, northern fulmar, eider duck., great cormorant

We are sailing from the Old Harbour in Reykjavík today for the tour at 09:00 and 13:00. There could be some movement out on the bay today, 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.

At this time we have to ask that all our guests and staff ensure their own hygiene and safety at all times. Washing hands thoroughly with soap and using a hand sanitiser on a regular basis is advised, as well as wearing a face mask when keeping a 2 metre distance from others is not possible. Masks are available for purchase in our ticket office and hand sanitiser stations are located in high traffic areas.