Last week students completed the annual "studying marine mammals in the wild course" at the University of Iceland's Húsavík Research Center. They joined us first on several trips with researcher/guide Charla Basran learning about the amazing wildlife in our bay and how to identify the individuals we see here.
There's simply no best time of the day to watch whales, but admiring the midnight sun at the same moment as a humpback whale breaks the surface for taking another deep breath is certainly the icing on the cake! Since early June we are running a GG2 Big Whale Safari and Puffins at 21:30 in the evening, on which our guests are able to watch the wildlife of Skjálfandi Bay during the peaceful evening lights as well as the magic of the midnight sun just before returning to the harbor of Húsavík.
On June 19th Gentle Giants will host a yoga retreat on the beautiful island of Flatey in Skjálfandi Bay! This full day tour is suitable for everyone and includes RIB transfer to and from the island, yoga classes led by an experienced local yoga teacher, vegetarian lunch, and a walking tour of the picturesque island.
Last week, for almost fifty countries in the world the 1st of June is Children’s day, but here in Húsavík (and all over Iceland) it was Seamen’s Day! Where people honored all those who have linked their lives with the sea.
The other day Skjálfandi Bay became a place of ''accidents". One of the Gentle Giants rib boats, 'Amma Sigga', crashed into a big oak boat. Both boats were full of passengers and thankfully no one had severe damages.
During the past days, several humpback whales presented their acrobatic side to us. Numerous times we were able to observe them jump or tail- and flipperslap. In many cases the behaviour seemed to be related to feeding as for example today when we approached a "group" of four individuals: we took notice of the whales when two of them started to lobtail in a far distance whilst a third one leaped high out of the water.
Recently the large travel guide book publisher, Lonely Planet just published an article naming the top 10 places in Europe to visit. You can see the article here: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/best-in-europe?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=paid%20social&utm_campaign=best%20in%20europe%202019&fbclid=IwAR2S44MaxkH7wn6luTrrxP2ybWDP9IyDWqxD8HepAYWGEZLtP-mVunt_g8g They voted The Arctic Coast way here in Iceland as the third best place to visit in Europe! Which includes the heart of North-East Iceland, our romantic town Húsavík.
With the start of the new week, the weather in Skjálfandi Bay has changed entirely after we experienced a very winter-like weekend! Now, the sea is calm and the sun is shining warmly from an almost cloudless sky! Additionally, several humpback whales have arrived to the bay and could either be seen feeding at the mountains or enjoying the calm of the ocean whilst surfacing in proximity to our boats.
Along with the migratory whales that spend the summer time in our bay, it is also the summer home to migrating birds coming to Iceland for their nesting season. One of the most amazing migrators on earth has returned recently: the arctic tern.
Newly born orcas, deep feeding sperm whales, acrobatic humpback whales, curious blue whales - these are just a few of the things we have experienced here at Gentle Giants whale watching in April. Yesterday was the official first day of summer here in Iceland.
