July has been very successful so far. Many humpback whales have been spotted in the bay, the weather has been very nice and high demand for our tours. It is good to see Húsavík full of summer life and guests from all over visiting again.
Whilst the weather might not have been entirely perfect during the last days, the humpback whales put on a show that made up for everything: Whilst just some days ago we watched them feast on fish all day long, these last days they suddenly started to interact a lot or show their acrobatic skills - often in a style that appeared to be a way of communication among each other.
"Where the mountains sing through the screams of seagulls / Where the whales could live 'cause they're gentle people / In my hometown, my hometown". Húsavík plays a major role in Will Ferrell's Netflix movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga which was released on June 26th.
Among an uncountable number of humpbacks, which were feeding in various areas of the bay yesterday, a giant surprise awaited us along the way: a huge blue whale was sharing the waters of Skjálfandi Bay with the humpbacks, probably to catch a well deserved snack whilst on its migration towards the Arctic.
Our tours last weekend have once again been wonderful: The bay was full of life and neither the weather turned its back on us! Dolphins patrolled several areas of the bay and a couple of humpback whales were feasting on Skjálfandi Bay's menu.
(English below) Veðurspáin er góð fyrir helgina og fullt af hval í flóanum! Við munum bjóða uppá áætlunarferðir um helgina á RIB í GG2 Big Whale Safari & Puffins: -Laugardagur 13. júní kl. 11:00-Sunnudagur 14. júní kl.
As days pass by, the north of Iceland is getting more and more colourful. Flowers are growing everywhere and the green of the grass covers the entire countryside. The last bit of snow in the mountains is slowly disappearing and life awakes wherever one looks.
The last weekend was filled with excitement as we sailed out to Skjálfandi Bay several times a day. During the trips we spotted a total of five different whale species: whilst on all our tours several humpbacks whales were spotted, also dolphins, minke whales and harbour porpoises were seen several times.
Whilst we and our boats are patiently awaiting the day that we can sail out of the harbour again and let our guests submerge in the world of whales, we know that life has returned to Skjálfandi Bay over the past weeks.
In an article published by “The New York Times”, locals of eleven top tourist destinations were asked what it’s like to experience a place, that is normally filled with tourists, all empty during current travel restrictions due to COVID-19. Gentle Giants’ CEO Stefán Guðmundsson was one of the persons questioned.
