Tour at 13:00
What a fantastic tour! The wind was still very strong but the humpback whale we spotted was so considerate that it stayed close to land and therefore we had really good shelter from Reykjanes peninsula. We were barely out of the harbour when our captain and few passengers spotted the humpback for the first time and as a result the rest of us barely had time to put on proper outdoor clothing before rushing out to the viewing platforms. The humpback was very calm and we could observe it for a while both under the surface as well as on the surface. It showed us the fluke two times and surfaced sometimes very close to the boat. On our way back to the harbour we stopped by Hólmbergsviti like on the morning tour to take a look at the kittiwakes.
Tour at 9:00
We departed from Keflavík today as the sea conditions were a bit better there than off Reykjavík. The wind was very strong but Reykjanes peninsula sheltered us from great swells. From early on in the tour we could see very active bird life which is always a good sign. We scanned the area quite well but it wasn't until late on the tour that a passenger spotted white-beaked dolphins behind the boat. We were sure there was some life in the area and therefore we were going quite slowly over the area. Unfortunately these dolphins weren't in a cooperative whale watching mood so we really only caught a glimpse of them a couple of times. The high peak of the tour was probably when we stopped by Hólmbergsviti on our way back to the harbour to take a look at the kittiwakes that are starting to nest there. The weather was great there and the view and the sounds from the birds were really amazing. Because our encounter with the dolphins was so short we offered our passengers complimentary tickets in the hope that the can join us again to see the whales.
Birds seen on the tours: Kittiwakes, fulmars, gannets, guillemots, black-backed and Iceland gull and few shags and cormorants.