Minke whale on a perfect autumn day
After the foggy and windy conditions we had the last couple of days, this morning started rainy but cleared up as soon as we left the harbor. The clouds released the stunning view of the beautiful mountains in the western part of Skjálfandi Bay and I think everyone agreed that it was already worth sailing out even if we wouldn’t find any animals, just to enjoy the wonderful nature here in the north of Iceland.
As usual we contacted other boats, asking if they spotted any wildlife in direction of the open sea. Since they haven’t been succesful we decided to check out the inner part of the bay. In the south we suddenly saw a black back surfacing – definitely a minke whale! However, the individual was very shy. It travelled a lot and came back to the surface very far away from us. It obviously avoided the boats and of course we respect that, since we’re only the visitors in the animals’ territory. So we left the minke whale, heading further northwest, where we encountered an other minke whale. And this one was very relaxed and didn’t care about us at all. It came up right next to the boat and spent lots of time at the surface.
In the afternoon we were lucky enough to watch that minke whale again. It was still very calm and not afraid of the boats, and we got some very close looks at it. So it was a wonderful day in autumn and great whale watching!
Luisa, guide
Minke whale surfacing close to our boat (photo: Luisa Klotz)
