"Where the mountains sing through the screams of seagulls / Where the whales could live 'cause they're gentle people / In my hometown, my hometown". Húsavík plays a major role in Will Ferrell's Netflix movie Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga which was released on June 26th.
Among an uncountable number of humpbacks, which were feeding in various areas of the bay yesterday, a giant surprise awaited us along the way: a huge blue whale was sharing the waters of Skjálfandi Bay with the humpbacks, probably to catch a well deserved snack whilst on its migration towards the Arctic.
Our tours last weekend have once again been wonderful: The bay was full of life and neither the weather turned its back on us! Dolphins patrolled several areas of the bay and a couple of humpback whales were feasting on Skjálfandi Bay's menu.
(English below) Veðurspáin er góð fyrir helgina og fullt af hval í flóanum! Við munum bjóða uppá áætlunarferðir um helgina á RIB í GG2 Big Whale Safari & Puffins: -Laugardagur 13. júní kl. 11:00-Sunnudagur 14. júní kl.
As days pass by, the north of Iceland is getting more and more colourful. Flowers are growing everywhere and the green of the grass covers the entire countryside. The last bit of snow in the mountains is slowly disappearing and life awakes wherever one looks.
The last weekend was filled with excitement as we sailed out to Skjálfandi Bay several times a day. During the trips we spotted a total of five different whale species: whilst on all our tours several humpbacks whales were spotted, also dolphins, minke whales and harbour porpoises were seen several times.
Whilst we and our boats are patiently awaiting the day that we can sail out of the harbour again and let our guests submerge in the world of whales, we know that life has returned to Skjálfandi Bay over the past weeks.
In an article published by “The New York Times”, locals of eleven top tourist destinations were asked what it’s like to experience a place, that is normally filled with tourists, all empty during current travel restrictions due to COVID-19. Gentle Giants’ CEO Stefán Guðmundsson was one of the persons questioned.
The Icelandic government announced yesterday that it expects to open its borders and start easing restrictions on international arrivals no later than 15 June 2020 (with conditions). Gentle Giants has been closed since 20 March due to COVID-19, for the health and safety of our guests and staff, to limit the spread of the virus.
Earlier in March we wrote about our fishing boat Aþena having returned to Húsavík right in time to start the annual lump fish season. (In late autumn she had been relocated to Reykjavík and underwent both, modernisation and maintenance work during the following winter months.
