A Baby Dolphin Swimming With Us

21.May 2019

To download the photos from today click HERE

Whale Watching Classic

9:00

We had another wonderful day with calm sea conditions today! We set sail aboard the Andrea for our morning Whale Watching adventure, and were eager to see what the day had in store for us. We sailed past the island of Engey in time to see some cute harbor porpoises swimming past us, spotted by an eagle-eyed passenger on the top deck. When they went for a dive we kept on going, and farther out we were lucky enough to encounter a very active and playful pod of white-beaked dolphins. One of them, a female, was even breaching again and again right next to us! These wonderful toothed whales were not the only cetaceans in the area, however, as we also spotted some minke whales as well. It’s so nice to see the size differences between all these species! After some time with the minkes, time was running short and so we made our way back to the Old Harbor in Reykjavík. It was a great way to start the day, having spotted three species!

– Jonathan Rempel

Tour Status: ON
Sightings: YES, Minke Whales, White-beaked Dolphins, Harbour Porpoises

13:00

After our fortunate morning tour, the crew of the Andrea was ready to head out on another wildlife adventure! Heading out to the feeding grounds, we searched carefully in our usual spots, keeping our eyes peeled for the 3 Bs – bodies, blows, and birds. Our careful searching was rewarded when we encountered a nice pod of white-beaked dolphins. These animals were no less curious than on the morning tour, and we got to see them so well as they swam past us, showing off their gray patterns and swirls on their sides. Later on we were visited by some minke whales, a commonly seen baleen whale species that visits Iceland during the summertime. Their smooth backs and falcate dorsal fins allowed them to gracefully swim past our boat to the enjoyment of our passengers. Another great tour was in the books!

– Jonathan Rempel

Tour Status: ON
Sightings: YES, Minke Whales, White-beaked Dolphins, Harbour Porpoises

17:00

During our last whale watching tour of the day, some clouds rolled in and covered up the sunny skies we had previously. But we had some beautiful sólstafir, or crepuscular rays, as a result! We sailed far out into Faxaflói Bay in order to have our first encounter, a pair of white-beaked dolphins that seemed to be very occupied, whether they were searching for food or doing something else. We left them and continued our search, checking out areas where northern gannets were diving into the sea to hunt for prey, until we finally encountered 2 minke whales to the south! One was larger than the other, and we managed to get nice looks at both of them among the feeding seabirds until it was time to say goodbye at the end of a long and wonderful day of whale watching.

– Jonathan Rempel

Tour Status: ON
Sightings: YES – Minke whales and white-beaked dolphins

Rib Express

11:00

The sea on this morning was perfect when we left the Old Harbour of Reykjavík. There are not may days where we can see reflections in the water. After a quick stop at the Puffin Island we made our way out into the bay and did not have to wait long to find a small pod of white-beaked dolphins. Because they were so busy feeding, we left them, after spending some time with them. Further out, this decision was rewarded by multiple minke whales! We were surrounded by at least 7 (!) of these baleen whales. We saw them from very nearby and decided, that it could not get much better than this in terms of minke whales, so we continued our journey. Again, we found white-beaked dolphins, but now, they had more time for us and came to check out our boat Dagmar! And just when we thought it cannot get any better, we saw another minke whale! My personal favorite, however, was a mother dolphin with her very, very young calf swimming super close to us! And it was in that moment where the clouds opened up and allowed some sunlight to pass through to us.

– Julian Ohl

Tour Status: ON
Sightings: YES, Minke Whales, White-beaked Dolphins

14:00

The sea conditions were even more calm than in the morning and our first stop in the bay of Faxaflói was the Puffin Island. The cute birds we find there make me smile every single time! With an even brighter mood than before, we started looking for our whale friends. The perfectly calm sea allowed us to see multiple fins in the distance, even during high speeds. No doubt, these were dorsal fins from white-beaked dolphins! They are amazing every single time we see them, especially when they come so close to the boat. On a day like this there is no rush in finding any other whale, we had an absolutely amazing experience with this toothed whale species. After we absorbed all the memories we possibly can from this trip, we headed back to the Old Harbour of Reykjavík.

– Julian Ohl

Tour Status: ON
Sightings: YES, Minke Whales, White-beaked Dolphins