After a long time of sailing without luck (on the 13:15 tour) people might have started losing hope, but in that very moment we spotted the two blows together and forgot the cold wind...When getting closer it came to light those were two feeding humpbacks, surrounded by sea birds snatching their share of the food which leaked out between the humpbacks' baleens.
Except for the scheduled trips we had an extra tour this afternoon; a group of Icelanders which filled our biggest boat Sylvía. It is always fun when passengers already know each other. The atmosphere tends to be extra merry, and so also today.
Quite soon after spotting the first blow on the 9:45 tour we realised there were two humpback whales side by side. They were both very calm, swimming together with us in drifting speed – several times so close that passengers literally could have petted them.
Our whale watching boat finally managed to leave Húsavík harbour again this morning. Captain Bessi and Guide María went out on Faldur which had only a few seats left empty. The sea is calm and the sun is shining.
The wanted evening sun is finally shining softly over Húsavík again, after nearly a week of constant snowstorm (and volcano worries). The sky is clear, the sea is calmer and we only see occasional traces of ash in Húsavík.
The weather in Iceland those days feels more typical for the middle of December than the end of May. Our tours have been cancelled for three days, snow has fallen constantly and it is not more than 1-2°C in land.
We went out this morning with young and adventurous passengers onboard. On our way north along the coast we bumped into a typical Icelandic fisherman who proudly showed us some of his catch. From there we continued to Puffin Island where there is always action.
It was not until the log exhaled that Daniel, guide onboard Faldur this morning, realised that is was something quite more exciting than driftwood that they had found. There was no log but two logging (heavenly breathing, possibly sleeping) humpback whales.
My day on Skjálfandi Bay has indeed been very successful. On both tours we had good weather and lots of whales! It started of this morning when captain Bessi and I went on the first trip after the storm.
Today the weather is much better than yesterday; The sun is breaking through and the sea is calmer. Faldur went out at 9:45, and half an hour later Daniel spotted what they all had hoped for; A blow in the distance.
