Reykjavik - Day 7 - Whales

On day seven of our journey, Sheri and I decided to add whale watching to the itinerary. We started out the morning with coffee and cocoa at our Te and Kaffi shop, worked for a couple of hours to entertain all of you with our adventure (what you thought this stuff just appears)?

After lunch at what is now our favorite restaurant, Apotek, we headed for the boat and the open waters. Thankfully it was a beautiful calm day so no need for sea sick pills. The boat was full but there was plenty of space for everyone.

The tour was scheduled for a 3 hour tour (Gilligan’s Island anyone?). An hour out, an hour searching for whales, an hour back. These Icelanders keep everything running on a tight schedule which is good and bad (mostly good).

We reached the area where the whales were generally found and almost immediately they spotted a Minke whale. The types of whales we would be seeing are more solitary than school species, so seeing one does not guarantee you will see another. This Minke was shy and only showed up a couple of times and then went on his/her way.

Then the clowns arrived in the form of white beaked dolphins. They’re fairly large, brown striped with a white snout (hence white beaked). They run in schools so a lot of splashing and jumping by the younger kids made for fun viewing.

Then the spouting of a humpback whale was spotted and the fun began. The whale took a liking to our boat and played with us breaching several times. The it decided to go under the boat and appear on the other side. Well worth the time and trip to see these amazing creatures.
Videos are being uploaded in pieces due to FindPenguins restrictions. The first video is a view of us leaving the harbor. The second is of the dolphins.

Finished the evening with dinner at a Scandinavian restaurant. Food was pretty good,Read more