Misty Minkes

9:00

The wind this morning was not very strong, so it was nice and warm out on the water. We sailed into the bay of Faxaflói and Andrea rocked gently on the waves the swell created. When we arrived in the feeding grounds, we were greeted by the smallest species of cetaceans we can see here, two harbour porpoises swimming by. They were followed by two more porpoises and then a minke whale, that surfaced a bit further in the distance. We approached this animal and saw that there were three minke whales in total, all feeding in the same area. It was hard to keep track of three individuals at the same time, but we managed to get good looks at all of them and it was nice to have so much going on around us. We were still enjoying the view when we spotted another blow in front of us! It was a humpback whale, and this beautiful giant did not just come to the surface to breathe, but also started to slap its flippers and tail on the water surfaces, creating big splashes. We were amazed by this playful behavior and slowly approached the animal. It let us come very close to it and still seemed to enjoy itself! After a while, it decided the show was over and went for a deeper dive. We continued on our journey and after a while, we spotted another humpback whale! This one was busy feeding and showed us its fluke when it went for a deeper dive. This was exciting, as it was a whale that we had seen in the bay before and it is always nice to meet old friends! We saw more minke whales on our way back to the Old Harbour and had a great morning in Faxaflói.

Tour Status: ON

Sightings: YES – Harbour porpoises, Humpback whale, Minke whales

10:00

This morning we sailed out with excellent conditions for our whale watching tour on Lilja. The weather was nice and the visibility out in the bay was good. We sailed out to the west heading towards the feeding grounds and soon we started seeing big flocks of birds feeding around. Good sign when looking for whales! There were a lot of kitiwakes and we could also see puffins resting on the surface. Our first sighting was a Minke whale that showed up in the surface not far from us. We could see it breathing a few times in a row before going for a deeper and longer dive. While we were waiting for that animal to come back to the surface, we saw another Minke Whale further in the distance. But our first Minke Whale came back soon and we had another good view of it. After this sighting we joined another whale watching boat further out in the bay to see a Humpback Whale. After seeing the Humpback a few times, we started our way back to the harbour. But the tour was not over at all. In our way back we found another Minke Whale that gave us a really good view very close to the boat, closer than 20m. We returned to the old harbour with happy passengers!

Tour Status: ON

Sightings: YES – Minke whales, Humpback whale

13:00

Tour Status: ON

Sightings: YES

14:00

It was a bit rainy as the passengers were coming onboard the Lilja. But as we started sailing out to the bay, the weather got better and we could enjoy some sun during the whole tour. We had some wind facing us as we sailed out heading west, but the conditions for the tour were not bad at all. The visibility this afternoon was still wonderful. There were fewer birds than in the morning tour, but after a while looking for the animals we found one Minke Whale. After one of its divings, we were confused because the animal showed up in the surface in very different positions. But soon we realized that it was not just animal, they were two Minke Whales in the same area at the same time. We could see them reaching the surface almost at the same time and it was even possible to hear them breathing. But the bay was hosting more Minke whales today! Far in the distance, we could see two more Minke whales swimming towards each other and giving us a really beautiful view. After enjoying at least four different Minke whales, we spotted a big blow far from us in the direction of Reykjavik. We approached the area and after waiting a few minutes, we saw that the animal that was making the big blow was a Humpback Whale. After seeing the dorsal fin a couple of times, we saw how the animal lifted its fluke up in the air and crashed it towards the surface. After that lobtailing behaviour, the animal continued swimming slowly and went for a deeper dive slightly showing its fluke again.

We decided to wait for the Humpback to come back and meanwhile we saw two more Minke whales on both sides of the boat. And very close to the boat! To end with the tour, we spotted the Humpback whale again, this time a bit further, but not less nice than before. Another beautiful tour, with the bigger species of the bay and nice and interesting behaviour!

Tour Status: ON

Sightings: YES – Minke whales, Humpback whale

17:00

Tour Status: ON

Sightings: TBD

21:00

Tour Status: ON

Sightings: TBD