Another unforgettable staff trip was held by Gentle Giants yesterday - for the crew and its family. Our destination was a place on the opposite side of the bay called Naustavík. Only a few of us had actually been to this Paradise before - until yesterday.
Finally the four days of storm are over and the whale watching is running again as scheduled. Some dunes are left on the bay, as a reminder of the bad weather which has now passed. Autumn brutally hit Húsavík.
I’ve always had two dreams. One about whales – the magic mammals of the ocean. The other about Iceland – the amazing country of fire and ice. It’s sometimes hard for me to grab, but I’ve actually been lucky enough to combine my two dreams and make them both come true.
Today Húsavík is like hit by some kind of Mediterranean heat! The temperature is very comfortable and when checking the thermometer on the Ticket Centre wall it says 21°c! We have a from-land-southerly-wind which makes the “heat” and keeps the sea very calm.
Something happened today that made the 13:15 and 15:15 tours very special. There was a band playing music onboard Sylvía; Three famous - Hilmar and co. On Sylvía’s way back, after encounters with dolphins and minke whales, the passengers got a private concert onboard.
As I write, my hands still smell like fish (a fragrance more than difficult to get rid of). This morning Frissi and I went out sea angling together with a group from Italy. Right after we left the harbour, a big whale appeared in front of us.
The weather was amazing yesterday morning; completely flat sea and sunshine. Faldur was rented by 43 Swedes. I guided them. In Swedish. As it was sort of a special trip, we had organised a surprise for them and they had no idea before.
Many people have asked if we are sisters - the manager's daughter Sylvía Dís Stefánsdóttir and I. We are not, but I understand why people think so... We look alike, we speak the same language (I practise my Icelandic on her) and we had a lot of fun when selling tickets together earlier today.
The bay was clear, the sea was calm and the sun was shining. It started like a good minke trip, but turned out to be an experience far greater than ever expected. Back then we had no idea what would meet us 40 minutes later on the other side of the bay .
It seems like the number of minkes on our tours increase day by day. One reason could be that they have the whole “sea food buffet” for themselves now, as the biggest ones (humpbacks and blue whales) obviously have taken a vacation from whale watching in Skjálfandi for some time.
