Challenging conditions – but great whales!
The Sunday morning started quite promising: The sea was calm and the sun forced some rays through the clouds. We sailed in north-westerly direction. On the way out we had the chance to observe many puffins, sitting at the sea surface. In some distance a group of white beaked dolphins was on their way in direction of the open sea, swimming in high speed. But suddenly right next to us a humpback whale surfaced, so we could not only watch him close-up but also feel its breath! However, the animal took quite long diving intervals, so after some time we decided to head further west, closer to the Víknafjöll-mountains. And we were lucky: Another humpback whale was in the area and this individual spent much more time at the surface than the one we spotted before. We watched it coming up right next to the boat and gracefully lifting the mighty fluke.
In the afternoon the weather changed. The wind picked up and the temperatures dropped. Nevertheless we took many brave passengers out and started searching for the whales again. What a surprise was awaiting us: In front of us a high blow arose from the water surface and when we approached the area we were sure: A blue whale! It’s so impressive to see the ‘never ending’ back of this incredibly large animal breaking through the surface! We got some great looks at the blue whale, before we turned the boat and sailed in westerly direction. And suddenly we spotted some splashes in some distance. We got closer and were lucky enough to see a breaching humpback whale! It breached several times and continued lobtailing, but stopped when we reached it. Once again, it was an exciting day out in Skjálfandi Bay!
Luisa, guide
