Whilst during the past days humpback whales were definitely our stars out in the bay, this morning we were welcomed by some totally unexpected visitors: two blue whales were encountered a short sailing time away from Húsavík’s harbour! Blue whales, the largest mammal that has ever existed on our planet, usually pass by Skjálfandi Bay on their way towards their feeding grounds in the far north.
As mentioned in the previous post, humpback whales have repeatedly expressed curiosity towards our boats these days. Yesterday again many kinds of behaviours could be observed from aboard our vessels.
The past days have not only been wonderful in regards of the weather, but also several humpback whales have entered the bay again in search for food. Even though some individuals would challenge our patience at first with a rather long dive period, they'd then reward us with a long time spent on the surface for breathing, resting and socialising.
Humpback whales are generally very solitary and non-social creatures as most of their time they spend alone. Sometimes though, they become curious and form temporary loose bonds with other individuals in the area.
After days of rain and wavy seas, the weather suddenly changed entirely over night. Yesterday's conditions couldn't have been any better with the sun shining all day until it turned red as a fireball during sunset.
Depending on your point of view, the word OCEAN has always been linked to many good things in life: an ocean of love, sounds, opportunities, etc. Such beautiful words for an amazing environment. However, during the last years it has also been related to pollutants, noise and especially plastics.
As we have passed the half-way mark in our 2019 whale watching season, these last few days gave us time to reflect on what has happened so far and look forward to the second half. So far in this season the Húsavík Research Center reports that we have had at least 82 different humpback whales visit our bay for feeding.
Skjálfandi Bay is home to many different cetaceans. Even though being famous for several big whale species such as the humpback and blue whales which visit these waters throughout the summer, also dolphins frequent the area and especially during June and July may show up in huge numbers.
The weeks of the golden midnight sun might be over, but the sunsets will remain just as beautiful and magical. Imagine the sea painted red and yellow by the setting sun whilst a gentle humpback whale moves along the surface of the water nearby the boat you're sitting on.
Whales don’t have particularly conventional feeding habitats. They don’t like to limit their eating to the restrictive confines of breakfast, lunch and dinner. They have instead decided to feed all day, every day, for the entire summer.
