During the last days we have had four humpback whales in the bay as well as several minke whales and dolphins.Especially the humpbacks were easy to find and nice to watch. We never had to wait long for them to come up to the surface to breathe and before they went down deep diving again they showed us their beautiful flukes.
After the blue whale which visited us for one day at the beginning of the week many other whales have followed. Harbour porpioses, white-beaked dolphins, minke whales, and humpback whales have arrived and stayed here for the last days.
What happened today in Skjálfandi Bay feels like a miracle:We left the harbour at 9:45 during the best conditions imaginable for whale watching; southerly wind and the sea calm as a mirror. That was why we were really optimistic to find at least the humpback whale from yesterday.
The season is getting higher and from 1st May we will have two tours scheduled daily; 9:45 and 13:15.The month of April has been better than expected; we started earlier than ever (on the 15th April) and all tours have gone out except for one.
It does not matter how many whales you have seen in your career. Every time you spot a new one it is always the same excited feeling rushing through your veins. Especially when the blow is visible (which is a sign of a bigger whale) like happened to captain Bessi, guide Ann-Sophie and all their passengers on our 9:45 tour earlier today when a humpback was found during adventurous conditions.
It seems like the whale season is starting for real now. Yesterday a nice group of white-beaked dolphins was swimming around the boat for half an hour. We got the chance to see them bow riding just in front of the boat.
Today as well as yesterday we could enjoy Skjálfandi Bay in gorgeous weather. Hardly any wind was blowing and the bay has been showing its full beauty. This compensates us for the lack of the big whales which have not been seen during the last days, when we instead enjoyed the presence of the smaller ones.
It is getting warmer day by day, the snow is melting and the first waterfalls are running down the mountain hills. The puffins have reoccupied Puffin Island to prepare their burrows from last year, ready for a new breeding season.
This morning we started our trip in bright sunlight. It seemed like the sun got really motivated due to all the celebrations going on all over Iceland yesterday to welcome the summer.After one hour we reached the other site of the bay, where we saw some harbour porpoises swimming quickly through the water.
Today it is the third Thursday in April and Iceland is celebrating one of its national holidays – Sumardagurinn fyrsti, The First Day of Summer.Nearly all the shops were closed and many festivities were going on all over the country – especially around Reykjavík.
