Encounter with an old friend

In the morning we sailed along the east coast of Skjálfandi Bay. We just left the harbor when we spotted a minke whale. It was heading north and we followed it some time on its way. But then we encountered a much bigger animal: A humpback whale! It was busy feeding and didn’t care about us at all. It surfaced a lot, always accompanied by a flock of arctic turns that were picking up the leftovers of the whale. On the way pack we passed by Lundey, the puffin island and enjoyed the view of thousands of puffins circeling around us.

In the afternoon we decided to sail in northwesterly direction to check out that area. On the way we came across a small group of white beaked dolphins. However, they were travelling quite fast so after having a good look at them we continued our journey. And it was worth heading further: We saw two humpback whales surfacing very close to each other, with is very special, since these animals are usually solitary. But what was even more exciting: One of them was an old friend of us! I encountered that individual already in 2012 and also the previous two summers here in the bay. It’s easily recognizable because of its remarcably white fluke. This individual is also known to be quite entertaining and we got the proof immediately: Suddenly it breached right next to us!!! How exciting, to have this humpback whale back in Skjálfandi Bay!

Luisa, guide

(Photos: Luisa Klotz)