Snæfellsnes Peninsula & Whale Watching

After a 2-hour drive from our lodgings in Reykholt, we arrived at the village where our guide, Arna, grew up—Grundarfjörður. She said she didn’t really appreciate it until she left. In her time, in the 1980s, she viewed it as a boring place. It is still a quiet fishing village—in a stunning setting. Kirkjufell (Church Mountain) and its nearby waterfall are said to be the most photographed mountain in Iceland.

In the afternoon, we got suited up in waterproof thermal jumpsuits for a whale-watching excursion in the fairly rough waters of the North Atlantic Ocean. Dramamine helped a lot! Because the whales were elusive, the company kept us out over an hour longer than planned, which was not that pleasant, bouncing around and getting the occasional splash of salt water.

Still, we did see one minke whale, some puffins and arctic terns, and finally toward the end we had some orcas breaching around the ship. It really made the journey worthwhile! Any of you who have tried to photograph whales know it’s impossible to know where and when they will make an appearance, so we’re sharing a couple of web photos as examples of the wildlife we saw while out on the ocean.

Do you know about Arctic Terns? They spend most of their life flying between the Arctic and Antarctic (chasing the sun!) and only stop for a short period to rest or incubate eggs. It is estimated that the tern flies a distance equal to about three times to the moon and back during its lifespan.Read more