Monday, September 6th

08:55

We had the perfect morning for whale watching, the ocean was calm, the weather was warm (for the season) and the whales were at home. We had sailed for a short time when a pod of harbor porpoises gave us the pleasure of their presence. They were probably 20 or more together in a pod and were all around us. While we were admiring them a minke whale surfaced not far away, and then another and another. We had hit the jackpot, lots of harbor porpoises and minke whales. All around there were whales, near and far, probably 5 minke whales and hundreds of harbor porpoises. We followed one minke whale to begin with and had it close for quite some time. We had a little intermission with the minke whales' show but got entertained by the porpoises in the mean while. When we found the minke whales again they were a bit far away so we sailed towards them. We were in the area where we thought they were and just waited to see them again. Then 5 meters from our left side one of them came up and the passengers scrambled to see it there but then there came another one at our front, also very close. There was almost too much happening at once for us to handle; two minke whales within 10 meters from us, where to look!?! But we got such an excellent look at these gorgeous whales. For the rest of the tour we enjoyed the company of minke whales and harbor porpoises and beautiful scenery. We got a great farewell when we started heading to the harbor when a minke whale we had been following came about 10 meters from our side, making us smile all the way back :)

Sunday, september 5th

08:55
On the beginning of our tour we spotted a group of White beaked dolphins which were traveling only 50meters in front of us. They were four of these nice black and white animals. After a while they came closer to our boat as they are quite curious. When they dived away we moved on sailing and searching for a Minke whale. One popped up next to our boat just 5 meters from us and as we were all standing outside we could see it clearly. This Minke whale did not want to show us more but we were glad also for this short moment. Still we offered another trip for free and most of our pasangers want to come back:)

Saturday, September 4th

08:55
We had windy but warm weather this morning. Unfortunately we did not see as many whales as we hoped for so we hope our passengers can join us on another trip for free.

12:55
Very shortly we saw one Minke whale after we sailed around without seeing any whales. This one was right next to our boat but traveled  very fast away and was gone in the waves of the ocean. We saw lots of  Gannets diving and other birds flying and feeding. It was a nice tour and hopefully we will see more on the next one.

Friday, September 3d

08:55
This morning we had south easterly strong wind. Sometimes in such weather the whales are breaching out of the water so it is very adventurous to see that but unfortunately they were not behaving like this this time. And we did not see any whales that were surfacing. We gave our pasangers a stamp on their ticket which means they can use it any time in the future again and come with us for free. The southerly wind is usually warm, so it is not cold out there. There were many birds in the bay especially the nice Gannets that we could see feeding.

Thursday, September 2nd

08:55

Starting this day we headed out to the bay with the wind in our back. We barely made it to the whale watching area when we found a good sign of whales, a big flock of gannets. Soon we had a minke whale surfacing only 20 meters from our side but it only came up once. For a long time this was the story, a whale came up within 100 meters and then disappeared but then our luck changed. As we were starting to look at our watches to see if we were running out of time a beautiful minke whale came up ahead of us. When we got to its location it took a U-turn and swam gracefully along our side, just about 30 meters away and surfaced many times for us to enjoy. We decided that this was a good ending for our trip and started heading home but only a minute had passed when another minke whale came up about 50 meters to our front about three times and each time gave a big spout into the air. We were very happy with our hosts of the ocean and went smiling back to the harbor.

12:55

The wind had picked up from this morning but it was all right because it was coming from the land and there for no big waves were being made. In a similar area as this morning we found our first whales, white beaked dolphins that showed us what they are made of, jumping between and over waves like nothing could be easier. They took a sharp corner and we followed along but as we were turning we found a big minke whale only 40 meters from us. This minke whale was in a big hurry but as it came up quite frequently it was also easy to follow. It was always 100 to 200 meters away from us as we did our best to keep up without over taking it, but we decided to go by our own intuition and sail to a location where we believed that it would surface. A few tense moments passed as we waited for it, but at the last minute, right at the end of our nerves, it came up only 20 meters from us, slow and gentle like it was checking us out, and did that several times. As we turned to follow it further out of the bay our engineer saw something very exciting indeed, a breaching minke whale in a great distance. We carefully maneuvered the ship away from our minke whale and then put the engines to full speed ahead. We watched as it jumped in the distance for a long time as we sailed towards it. When it decided to stop breaching we were already in pretty close range and saw the amazing whale jump clear out of the water, making enormous splashes when it hit the water. It did this for good 20 minutes, breaching at high speed, twisting and turning in the air, giving us a good chance to see this slender whale. A bit behind schedule we headed back to the harbor, but I believe that our passengers didn't mind one bit that we were behind schedule; seeing a breaching whale in the wild isn't exactly something you order from a brochure :)

Wednesday, September 1st

08:55
This morning looked very promising with moderate winds and good lighting conditions :) We sailed out and soon found our first whale, a big pod of harbor porpoises that led us to our first big whale. We found several minke whales around 6, one that came within 15 meters from us but they were all in a hurry and didn't let us enjoy them properly, even though we saw them quite a few times. It was a wild goose chase going after them, coming up once or twice and then disappearing. Since this is a whale watching and not whale glimpsing tour we want to have our passengers back for a free tour to show them the whales properly, not just glimpses :)

12:55
We had to sail very far out to the bay to find our whales this time, but when we found them we really found them. There was a huge flock of gannets diving that led us to dozens of minke whales, but before we reached them we came across a big pod of harbor porpoises. We were in the area for a long time, seeing countless numbers of minke whales all around us, close and far. We even saw a minke whale lunge feed twice right in front of us, always an amazing sight. We went happy and smiling back to the harbor for the second and last time today, since in September we now go two tours a day, at 8:55 in the morning and at 12:55 at lunch time. One thing not to be forgotten. We saw a puffin on the bay, making our passengers unbelievably happy since the puffin season has ended a couple of weeks ago, but there are only a few of them left on the bay waiting to go away for the winter.

Tuesday, August 31st

08:55
We had rainy and cold weather, it feels more and more like fall. In the Faxafloi bay are many Minke whales feeding in these days. There is lots of fish and also the bird gather and feed, especially the beautiful Gannets. While watching the Minke whales surfacing suddenly there were two Minke whales traveling just next to each other for some time. These whales are solitary animals so it was unusual to see them so close together. Lots of times we could also hear them breathing. It was a nice Minke whale tour.

12:55
The Minke whales were a little more difficult to approach then this morning. They were always far but one got the courage and came really close and stayed also for some time and we had the chance to enjoy it finally after a time only looking around and seeing them surfacing far in the distance. We admired also the feeding Gannets, large birds of the North Atlantic. Its cold and windy out on the sea so dress well!:)

Monday, August 30th

08:55
We saw a lot of Minke whales this morning, it took us some time to come closer to the minke whales but after some time, they came to us and we could enjoy them right next to our boat when they were surfacing. Also our smallest Harbor porpoises were diving and surfacing in flocks in the bay. But as the water surface was not so calm we did not see them as well as we wanted. There were also few birds out there today.

12:55
It got calmer since this morning, so the conditions for Whale watching were much better. On the way we saw some Minke whales but always just far away. Finally we got into an area with lots of birds and huge flock of fish, we could see them breaching all over, mainly the little Sand eels. Minke whales were very busy with feeding and used different techniques to feed like lung feeding and bird associated feeding technique. When they do so they produce lot of splash and show us also more of their beauty. It was a very interesting tour!

16:55
On this tour we saw all the species we can see in this bay! Full house:) Starting with the Minke whales that were doing incredible things around our boat like hunting the fish so far up to the surface, that the fish jumped out of water! And there were so many and feeding so intensively like they havent been eating for the whole summer. Two Minke whales speed up opposite each other at the same time so close, that they almost hit each other..And that was all happening 5meters from our boat. Then the Humpbacked whale which we havent seen for few weeks. It was slowly surfacing and we admired the huge tale. Releasing the air and hearing it breathing took our breath away. This animal came rarely into this area this summer, so we were happy to see it again. In the same spot also Harbor porpoises were having their meal. And the birds flying all over. Such a harmony in the nature. On the way back a group of White beaked dolphins greeted us. It was my best tour during this summer and we sailed back fullfiled with this wonderfull experience:)

Sunday, August 29th

08:55

We sailed out in a dense rainy mist but with tolerable visibility. We had sailed for a while when we spotted a pod of harbor porpoises going by fast, as they are by nature fast, shy and elusive we decided not to go after them, rather enjoy them from a far this time. We were sailing through the far end of the whale watching area when our eagle-eyed stewardess spotted a blow in the mist (a very hard thing to spot in the mist). We headed that way and by the time we reached it a minke whale came up about 50 meters in front of us. This one was not in a whale watching mood and didn't let us see it any more. We sailed in good hope to the area we had been lucky in yesterday and lo and behold, there was a big flock of gannets in an opening in the rain. When we were in the thick of the gannets the rain stopped but instead there was a rain of gannets all around us. In the area we enjoyed the presence of white beaked dolphins and minke whales. There were around 3-4 minke whales in the area, often coming within 20 meters from our ship. The white beaked dolphins kept their distance a bit, but came closest about 30 meters away from us. They were all there feeding on something that kept a few meters below the surface, judging by the birds and the whales. But by being this far away from land we had to head back to land, too soon in our opinion but still a bit behind schedule. But we enjoyed an easy going sail back to the harbor, chatting about everything and nothing, sipping on hot cocoa

12:55
With the knowledge of the whales so far away we hurried out to the whale watching after the classical sight seeing on our way between the islands. We searched on our way there in the good visibility, at least compared to the weather in the city. Pleasantly to our surprise we found the whales much closer to land this time, not only one but 4 of them, small, medium and big ones. Minke whales of all sizes and the intermission entertainment of the harbor porpoises. We also saw a glimpse of white beaked dolphins about 400 meters away from us but as soon as they appeared they disappeared. Another upside of finding the whales closer it that we can spend more time with them before we have to head back to the harbor. The minke whales came often within 50 meters from us, once with such speed that we were all pulled aback from the surprise. Just as a heavy raincloud soared in, our time our on the bay was over and we all hurried back into the warmth and shelter of Andrea, proving to us just how much of a luxury ship it is :)

Saturday, August 28th

08:55
The cool morning air is the best wake-up anyone can have. We sailed from the calm wind in Reykjavik to the brisk north east wind on the bay. We had not sailed for a long time when we found a very big pod of harbor porpoises that surrounded us for a while. These adorable toothed whales are most of the time shy of boats but when they are traveling many together they are not as afraid of us. We searched for a long while before we found our first minke whale, that turned out to be two at a closer look. There was an adult and a young one, most likely a mother and a calf and we were able to follow them and see for a very long time before we had to say farewell and head back to the harbor. The conditions today are perfect to see the magnificent spout of the whale as it exhales at the surface and we saw how big it can be from a full grown minke whale as it reached above the level of our top-deck, about 4 meters or so. We sailed to Reykjavik with awesome memories to share with family and friends when we get back to land :)

15:00

We had a special tour today, not only the timing but also the action. We sailed and sailed and sailed across the whale watching area not seeing anything and we were just about to turn to the southern edge of it when we saw a big flock of gannets about two nautical miles away from us to the west (far out of the usual area). We sailed a bit closer waiting to see if we could identify a whales spout from the gannets splash. After a while we saw what we hoped for, a big spout, and as we got closer we saw another one and another one. Soon we saw that the area was full of minke whales, lunge feeding, half jumping at their food and also coming up in their majestic way to catch a breath between bites. When we got to the center of the action we had gannets, thousands of them, diving next to us and between 20 and 30 minke whales in heavy feeding action. We almost forgot to check our watches but headed back to the harbor in Reykjavik with such great memories. On our way back we came across a huge pod of harbor porpoises but we only saw them for a short moment and then they were gone. It was a perfect ending to a perfect and sunny day.

Friday, August 27th

08:55
This is the way to start a good day, out on the bay in nice weather with our friends the minke whales. We sailed to the main area and soon found us a big flock of gannets and other ocean birds like guillemots, fulmars and manx shearwaters. Shortly after we arrived we found our minke whales, two of them but soon lost one of them but enjoyed the one who stayed behind. It gave us a good show, coming within 50 meters every now and then. When it went for a very long dive we headed to another area where the gannets were re-assembling, and found another minke whale there, a bit smaller but nice never the less. It too gave us a good show and guided us towards land when we were out of time on the bay. So happy with an excellent morning out on the bay we went smiling all the way to the harbor.

12:55
This was a trip that we will never forget. We started by finding our first whales just as we were sight seeing on our way out to the bay. A pod of harbor porpoises swam by fast and with splashes. Very soon after we found a pod of white beaked dolphins that gave us the run-around as they searched for food at the speed of about 8 knots. We went further out to find something bigger but found another pod of white beaked dolphins, putting on a show by jumping high in the air for great distances. When we arrived they had stopped jumping but we got some of them porpoising (jumping while going forward) in front of us. There were probably around 10 dolphins in the pod. When we had seen enough of white beaked dolphins (hard to get enough of them though :P ) we headed again further into the bay. We found a flock of birds that gave us the direction of our first minke whale, but we only saw a glance of that one. We waited and waited but with no luck but our luck was soon to be turned again. We found two minke whales in an area close to us, both of them pretty big and we managed to get close to one of them and get a good look. When I say close I mean that it actually came to us, for about half an hour and only surfaced within 5 meters from us, for half an hour! It literally rubbed itself against the back of the ship, spyhopped and rubbed itself as it slid back into the water. It was a big minke whale 7-8 meters, with the most beautiful all-white flippers. We really saw just about every aspect of this minke whale, from the pointy beak, the double breathing holes, its breathtaking patterns even to its wide flukes (yes whales have two flukes, left and right at the end of their "tail"). We were nearly half an hour late into the harbor because the minke whale kind of held us hostage, we could not risk injuring it by putting on the propellers with it so close to us. But I believe that our passengers were not too upset that we stuck around a little longer with our new found friend :)

16:55

We sailed in the incredibly calm weather out for our last whale watching trip of the day. We started going on a wild goose chase after a pod of white beaked dolphins but we were unable to catch up with them as they were swimming too fast for us as well as going every which direction imaginable. We sailed on enjoying the weather, doing a little bit of sight seeing while we were searching for our whales. Soon we saw another pod of white beaked dolphins but the story was the same, they were too preoccupied searching or chasing food to give us a second look. But they led us to our first minke whale, a very nice one that gave us plenty of time to view it from all sides. When we lost that one it took us only a few minutes to find a new one, similar size but very different dorsal fin (kind of like our fingerprint). That one also gave us a good show and we were able to get a good look at it, specially when it was going for deep dives when it came up with its chin high above water and then put a big arch on its back as it headed into the deep. We said good-bye as it went for a deep dive and we sailed back to Reykjavik harbor in the beautiful August evening, with the sun getting lower, painting the mountains around the bay in magical colors.5

Thursday, August 26th

08:55
It was a nice tour this morning, the watersurface very calm and many Minke whales around us. Sometimes they came close and breathed almost into our ears:) The Gannets were feeding everywhere we looked and the scenery around of mountains and sea pressed an unforgetable memory.

12:55
Perfect weather for whale watching today! calm water surface, warm and so many whales:) On the lunch tour there were even more Minke whales than on our morning tour. We managed to see them also from a closer distance and hearing them breathing is such a wonder full thing. It looked like they really wanted to see us because some of them went strait toward us. From the bird world we could see Gannets.  Beautiful tour.

16:55
There was a nice evening in the bay with an evening sun. Surrounded by montains and the Snaefellsjokull glacier in front of us, we started to see Minke whales surfacing. They were about 200m away from us and it took us some time to approach a Minke whale so we could see it from closer. Maybe the dolphins helped because as soon as we spotted a group of White beaked dolphins and a then a Minke whale popped up right next to us. So we had both species at one place and could fully enjoy the sighting...

Wednesday, August 25th

08:55
The wednesday morning was calm in the harbor but a bit windier and colder in the bay, it feels like fall already. We were sailing for long time until we saw the first Minke whale. It was elusiv and we spent lots of time looking for it and following it. It was diving long but we could always find it again, it seemed playing with us "hide and seek":) Then we got a message from the other whale watching vessel that there are some dolphins around, so we sailed into that direction and the White beaked dolphins were surfacing right in front of us about 50 meters, and one of them was breaching. In the middle of enjoying we turned the boat to the harbor, we were late.

12:55
Today it was great visibility, even the Snaefellsjokull glacier was clearly visible and the whole Peninsula of Snaefellsnes also. We saw one Minke whale that we were following for some time, it was traveling in front of our boat and heading into the direction of the glacier. But suddenly we lost it and for the rest of the tour we did not see it again. There were still many Puffins feeding out on the sea.

16:55
On the evening tour we unfortunately did not see any whales. There were also only very few birds. We sailed far out and were looking really hard but hopefully next time we'll get more lucky.

Tuesday, August 24th

08:55
The autumn has clearly come to Reykjavik. The colors of the trees have started to change, there is a crisp feel of the air and we start getting cold ears! We sailed for a long time, having seen spouts from whales in the distance, hoping to get to the whales in time. We were lucky, we found our minke whales, and more. When we had lost our first minke whale after a short time we got a short surprise visit from a couple of white beaked dolphins but they were in a hurry, probably to reunite with their pod. We sailed on to a big flock of gannets, where we saw the last of the puffins on the bay very close to our ship even with food in their mouth. There were a few minke whales, one of them which we could follow a bit seeing it decently, but very romantically disappeared into the sun. The minke whales seemed to be a bit in a hurry, searching for food. After searching for another while we saw three different spouts a few hundred meters away, and when we arrived we got a nice show when they came all at the same time, about 100 meters from us and sent out three spouts as a salute. We had run out of time and were heading towards land when we saw something 100 meters to our front. We stopped and saw that a pod of white beaked dolphins had showed up. They were a lot of fun, swimming close to us and giving us a good look at them before they started the show. Two of them started jumping over and over again like crazy, turning in mid-air and slamming sideways into the water. They did this for an amazingly long time, these dolphins are really energetic. We had to say good-bye for now but we were very happy about seeing such a good show at the end of our trip.

12:55
We have a perfect weather to spot the whales from a distance, a bit of wind and small waves. We had to sail far out to find our whales today, they were feeding over a small drop-off in an area we know well for good whale watching. On our way there we enjoyed the good weather and the fresh, salty ocean air. When we got there we soon found our whales, sending out "smoke signals" where they were coming up. We spent a while chasing after the minke whales as they dashed around us here and there, but never really got to enjoy them until we met a fun-loving minke whale that was just about as curious about us as we were of it. It came up close to us and slow, just easy going, so high with it's side that we could see its eye, checking us out, investigating. It was an adult minke whale, about 7 meters long with the most beautiful bracelets on its flippers. We got to be with it for a long time but just like it had our schedule worked out it disappeared into the blue at the same time we had run out of time. So we headed back to the harbor with great memories of a beautiful minke whale that made our day :) The magic of whale watching in the wild is that we are in no control over how well or for how long we see the whales, it is all in their own personality, daily mood and where they find their food, how well we get to know them.

16:55
For our last tour of the day there is little to say, the whales were not in a mood to come and greet us this time. We saw spouts from whales here and there, even two of them within 100 meters from us, but they all disappeared before we got to see them. Our passengers however enjoyed the cruise around the bay and the stories about this and that around us, but naturally we hope to see them again for a free tour.

Monday, August 23d

08:55
The wind from yesterday had fortunately eased down a little so it was feasible to go whale watching again. Still it was a bit windy and cold but our passengers didn't let that deter them and simply dressed for the occasion :) We had been searching for a little while when we found our first minke whale. It came up fast and only once, so we never got to enjoy it properly. We spent a great deal of time searching for our next one and our search finally paid of when a minke whale came up 30 meters in front of us, and several times this time. But after three series of surfacings it disappeared from our sight for the last time. That was the last of the minke whales we saw. We at Life of whales have a high entertainment limit and this tour didn't pass our requirements for a proper tour ( despite all the jokes :P ) so we offer our passengers to come back for a free tour, when ever they want to return to us.

12:55
The wind had gone down just a little since this morning but the whales were not cooperating any more. We spotted 5 different minke whales, from 50 to 200 meters from us but they just didn't come back up for another look, so we didn't really enjoy them decently. They might be searching for food, but it was obvious that the gannets had already found theirs as they were diving, hundreds even thousands all around us.

16:55
It appeared that the luck was not going to be on our side on our last tour of the day. Although the wind had gone down and the ocean was much better we had to look for a long time. Then our passengers on the left yelled out that they had seen a whale next to the ship. We stopped short and turned around, and sure as the water is wet, our passengers were right. There was a handsome minke whale in a hurry swimming close to us. It took us a while to find it again but we managed it in the end, to see it a few more times before it disappeared for good. Then we started searching a bit more and in a short while we were in the thick of real action. There were minke whales, white beaked dolphins and yellow headed gannets in a feeding frenzy only a short distance away. When we got there we were seeing up to five minke whales at a time all around us. They were mostly about 100 meters away but as they came lunge feeding towards us they let themselves drift our way and came within 20 meters on a few occasions, giving us a perfect view of these amazing animals. The white beaked dolphins jumped and splashed around as they chased after their prey, all along swimming side to side with the big minke whales who were lunge feeding like crazy. After a while of this madness the party ceased a bit, we saw the blows from the minke whales a bit further apart, and in a few minutes the party had dissipated into nothing. The gannets had flown home, the white beaked dolphins had swam away and the blows of the minke whales could be seen getting further and further away. We sailed home after an extra-ordinary day at the bay, with big smiles on our faces :)

Sunday, August 22d
Tours cancelled due to weather

Saturday, August 21st

08:55
The wind from yesterday did not calm down, it even increased. In the bay we saw a Minke whale but it was impossible to follow it in the waves. We were looking for the rest of the tour for more whales but couldn´t see any. But we saw a lot of the Queens of the Northatlantic ocean, the beautiful Gannets, they were feeding out on the see, diving in the water and having lots of fun. Of course we offered our pasangers another sail for free.

12:55
This tour was similar to the morning tour. Windy and cold and we saw Minke whale for a second and then it dived. Its a shame the whales did not breach, like they sometimes do in this kind of weather. After all it was an unforgetable the sailing in the wild north atlantic with jumping whales. But hopefully next time when our pasangers join us again for free.

16:55
Cancelled due to bad weather

Friday, August 20th

08:55
It was windy and cold on our morning tour. The ocean is more rough in this kind of weather but than it is also exiting to be out there and see the wild nature. From far distance we could see lots of splashes that the White beaked dolphins caused by their breaching. But in the mean time we arrived in the area were they jumped the dolphins traveled away. Suddenly a Minke whale popped up close to us and headed towards our boat so we could see it clearly and then it dived. For the rest of the tour we were in an area full of feeding Gannets and up and then a Minke whale showed its beauty. Wild tour:)

12:55
On the tour at 12o´clock we had northern wind and this wind is always cold. But we sailed out with optimism to see the Minke whales we saw this morning. Fortunately we saw them but it was always just for short and then the Minke whales dived and got lost in the waves that they aparantly enjoyed:). One Minke whales we saw surfed strait on a wave into our direction and that was quite close to us although not every body could see it, because some of us were busy just holding on, as the boat was shaking..:) We did offered another trip for free as this sailing was adventurous but we wanted to see more of the whales.

16:55
Cancelled due to bad weather

Thursday, August 19th

08:55
Such a beautiful morning for whale watching! The sun is shining and the whales are at home. We were only just making it away from the islands when we spotted a big flock if birds in the distance and soon after we saw the blow and the black back of a minke whale a few miles away from us. When we got there we found two minke whales that played with us a bit, making us search for them for a while but when we found them again they led us to a bunch of other minke whales. We had about 5-6 minke whales in front of us at that point. They showed themselves quite well and some of them came within 50 meters. We decided to follow one of them, a large minke whale, but to our pleasant surprise, two other minke whales joined in and stayed with us for a long time. Then, almost like they had planed it or something, all three disappeared for a long time. We managed to find one of them again and follow it to a new feeding area where we had the pleasure of seeing three minke whales lunge feed in front of us, under a big flock of seagulls. Again we had between 5 and 6 minke whales all around us. With all the minke whales we spotted we were counting about 15 minke whales or so, even up to 20 if we let our imagination loose a bit. We spent a very long time with the minke whales and all our passengers can now easily identify a minke whale within a second :) When we were starting to head back to the harbor, a few harbor porpoises jumped about 100 meters from us so some of our lucky passengers got a look at these shy and elusive porpoises. In the beautiful weather we headed back to Reykjavik after an amazing trip to the home of the whales.

12:55
We went with smiles out to the bay in the good weather in hopes to find the whales again. We found a big, actually an enormous flock of gannets diving into the ocean and giving us an all-round great show. But we were surprised to see that there were no whales around them, even after a long search. A bit before we reached the flock we saw a small pod of harbor porpoises and the lucky passengers who were staying in the front got a good look at them as they swam right under the ship, never to be seen again. It was not long since we headed away from the gannets that we found two nice and playful minke whales. They seemed to be searching for food, coming only once or twice to the surface and then go for a long dive. But then they seemed to notice us, and started circling us, checking us out. They performed all sorts of stunts around us, surfacing only meters from us, rolling under-water and even head slapping (slapping their head as they broke the surface. Time really passes quickly when we have fun and too soon we had to sail back to the harbor, but only after having our minke whale friends engraved in our memories.

16:55
The wind was pretty stiff on our last tour of the day, picking up the waves and at the same time helping us finding our minke whales. When we were almost at the whale watching area we found our first minke whale when it gave out a big blow and splashed against the waves. We were so excited, ooing and aahing about it as it came up again and again, closer and closer. We managed to follow it for some time but lost it now and then, always finding it again by it's blow. But our minke whale wasn't alone, the blows all around us, some small and some huge, gave out the locations of other minke whales around us. We lost it a long time and we are not sure if we found it again or two other minke whales, but we found two others, and then the third one! They were all around us, one coming up by our side, only 30 meters away the others a bit further away, but within 100 meters very often. They split up and we followed our favorite, and it proved a real keeper. It took off at high speed and we were afraid it was going to disappear but still followed it. It made us wait for a bit longer than we were comfortable with, and had almost given up but then it surprised us by surfacing within 10 meters from us to our left (twice), then within 10 meters from our front (again twice) and made us wait a bit before surfacing to our right again within 10 meters, each time letting us hear it's powerful breath. We got an amazing look at our stunning whale as it gave us the show of a lifetime. That wasn't our last sighting of minke whales on our tour but by far over-shadowed the rest, even though we got an amazing show after this :) So with the wind in our hair and the sun in our face we headed to Reykjavik harbor with a big smile on every face after an amazing whale watching tour.

Wednesday, August 18th

08:55
We headed out from the calm morning air in Reykjavik harbor to the brisk wind out on the bay. We had the pleasure of sunshine and warm weather on our tour and didn't have to wait for long to find our first minke whale, and next to it it's small calf. The wind hid them well in the waves and for much of our tour we searched for them again but at last we found them again and watched them for a good while. But in the meanwhile we saw a pod of white beaked dolphins and some nice harbor porpoises that stayed around for almost the whole trip. The minke whales had gotten a bit of reinforcement from another big minke whale. They came up here and there, near and far so we got a nice look at these majestic animals. We all went back with a big smile back to Reykjavik.

12:55
The wind had died down a bit, and so did the waves die down. We found our minke whales fast this time also and spent a great while with them, but while they went for a deep dive we got great entertainment from harbor porpoises in a big pod, and like this morning they stayed around for a long time, popping up here and there. But there was a big surprise for us at the end of our trip. While we watching two minke whales there came a big commotion in the water, and naturally we assumed it was a lunge feeding minke whale but when we saw the enormous fin we realized it was no local swimming next to us. This was the dorsal fin of a huge male Orca, more commonly known as a Killer Whale since it prays on marine mammals as well as the more usual fish. We saw it taking a fast strike at the point where we had seconds ago seen a young minke whale. Shortly after we saw it take another strike at the small minke whale, who quickly swam away at amazing speed. We didn't see them again for a long time and were worried that this lone male Orca had gotten it's pray this time, the small minke whale. Fortunately for the small minke whale we saw it again and very clearly, only 10 meters from our front, giving us a farewell as it was time to go back after a very special trip to the bay.

16:55
The evening tour was calm, sunny and very nice. We were surrounded by Minke whales that were enjoying their dinner in the pure ocean. They did not seem to even notice our presence, they were so busy with feeding and we were busy with watching them. When they surfaced close to us, we could see also their white side flippers and pointed beak. There was so much fish in that area and all the birds were crazy feeding especialy the Gannets. Now and then also Harbor porpoises showed us their cute little dorsal fin. It was just pleasant three hours out at the sea:)

Tuesday, August 17th

08:55
It is a beautiful day today, very warm nice and calm weather and the water surface is perfect for whale watching. In the bay we saw a lot of Minke whales as we arrived in a area where there was plenty of food, we also saw the fishes at the surface. There were many Harbor porpoises to see, they are small but as the ocean was calm we could see them really nice. Later we encountered a group of White beaked dolphins and they were traveling in front of our boat. Many Puffins out there to see too!

12:55
This tour was warm and sunny, it was a bit windier than this morning but the surface was still fine for seeing the whales. We had again lots of Minke whales around us. One time a Minke whale came up three meters next to our boat and produced a loud blow. That was very impresiv. Many Gannets were feeding close to us too so we could enjoy watching their interesting feeding technique. We can still see also Puffins on the ocean. Great tour full of whales and birds!

Monday, August 16th

08:55
This morning we had nice calm weather. The Puffins are still at the island Lundey but will fly away soon in the next following days. Our whale watching tour was pretty good today with many whales! Minke whales were surfacing all around us and also came very close like 5 meters to our boat. There were feeding in the same area like the Gannet birds. We sailed further and spotted also White beaked dolphins. Seven dolphins were bow riding  in the waves. On the way back Harbor porpoises were surfacing hundred meters away from us and not far from them again lots of Minke whales. It was a great tour!:)

12:55
There were no Puffins on the island Lundey on this tour. So we sailed out and saw few in the bay. Minke whales had their lunch and we could observe them everywhere:) Now and then also Harbor porpoises showed their small back and little grey dorsal fin. Gannets made a great show by dropping into ocean from hights.

16:55
On the evening tour we sailed directly out into the bay, because there were no Puffins on the island Lundey. We could see them on the ocean close to the area where we stopped to watch the Minke whales and Harbor porpoises. This tour was incredible. In the end we stopped counting the Minke whales because there were so many! Lots of them were lung feeding so we could see the pink color of their lower jaw and some were using the bubble net technique. One was right next to us and suddenly speeding up to catch the fish, it was wonderful to see what the whales can do and what fun they have in the sea. By the evening sun and a huge rainbow we sailed back to the harbor.

Sunday, August 15th

08:55
Sometimes we believe the ocean is wav(e)ing towards us . This morning all winds came together , lashing some while later above the sea with different kinds of tune . Up coming wintertime finds way across and let us know . We started sailing , passing the little old lighthouse like all mornings . Its there , so beautifully with its majestic guiding voice , never to miss out . Ocean wide how old you are ;) The waves run up our ship in all directions , all rippling . It was difficult to make a stop at our dearly friends at puffin island Lundey we thought first , but as we arrived we managed to stay some time , enjoying our lovely birds in there morning guttering . Many Puffins where in front of there nest , not occupied like always . Puffins are so beautiful to look at . Once they take of to fly they run all the way up to the cliffs to jump to get the swing for enough lift to fly , same if they take of from water , the get all furiously into the wind , just like a airplane head into the winds for takeoff . Scientists have count up to 60 small fish in a Puffins mouth . When he is „ fishing „ he can dive up to 60 meters into the ocean – wow ! And there outlook is soooo sweet unique – that's why often they are called the clown of the birds . And now arrives time they will leave home ;( In just about one week , maybe two weeks . All the Island Lundey will be empty . There real life is out in the open sea , almost never setting foot on ground , living at sea only ! But when spring comes along they come back home , to Lunday – Reykjavik or other island around iceland . Some are city Puffins and some prefer smaller fisher towns :) They always come back to there nest where they were born and stay for lifetime with there spouse . Now we sailed out in the wild , the weater was taffy . Our passengers got this extra warm clothing and rain jackets we offer in all tours here on the ship , so it was more fun to be out and detect our first Minke Whale .. well there was not much ;( One time we vision a large mass back of a Minke whale appearing just in front , but never to find again . Often we have Minke whales jumping in this kind of weather , toying with waves , but this time we had no luck to be part of such spectacle . Sometimes waves are robbers , stealing all the whales away from us . Time past and we sailed back home , everyone cosy in our nice coffeehouse , listen to the winds outside and twinkle out the window with a smile at our faces to be of nature , so close moments . Of course we overt our passengers another free tour to come along for whale watching with our huge yacht  ;p
 
 12:55
All day Winds and fogs , the weatercontitions didn't change much in our next tour . Rain and all kinds up coming ocean sounds marten the sea. Facing the ocean in its gray sorrow colors we packet our selves in warm clothes . Lunday Island where empty of Puffins , they where out lunch feeding , we got to see some of them later in our whale aria plashing around ;) All passengers where so excited to help in whale spotting and it was usefully to have one hug whale team this time :) After some while we saw this big blow far away , since there was so many waves we wasn't shore . We sailed towards this direction and soon after we where shore ! A minke whale feeding very intent underneath the waves . After some while taking care not losing location of our Minke whale, he suddenly disappear . Everybody watching towards the front to see this beautiful mammal again , and there she appeared just out of the blue , 20 meters ahead of us ~~ huge Minke whale :)  8 meters long . We got this very good picture and then she was gone . Really gone , we watched so carefully not to lose here , but we never saw here again . As our ship where stopped so long time our focus slowly across to all that gannets . There where thousands ~~ flying and feeding above the surface . We where surrounded with gannets and there magnificent appearance made us forget about our Minke whale . Gannets are large and white birds , with long pointed wings and bills . Northern gannets are the largest Ocean birds in the North . There wingspan can get up to 2 meters . They can dive from a height of 30 meters , in a speed of 100 km/h to catch fish . This time they where so spectacular , jumping all around us into the wild Ocean  . Our breath was taken , our ship surrounded with fog and now more fewer winds. For 20 minutes we enjoyed this magical one time spot . Of course , they wear the biggest wings around the north .... time past , we where so late coming home , but just because we attempt our best to find more Minke whales ;( Since we haven't seen much of whales we offer our passengers to come for free to one of our next tours into the wild   :))))) 

  
16:55
Cancelled through badly wav(e)ing weater ! ;(

Saturday, August 14th

08:55
We sailed out to puffin island in the windy but good weather and were so glad that the puffins were at home. We sailed out towards the whale watching area but we hadn't even made it there when a minke whale surfaced only 100 meters to our left side. We followed it for some time or until we found another one, and then the third one. We were watching these three minke whales for a long time and watched as they went for a bite underwater only meters from the ship and the small fish were jumping at the surface, trying to get away. We saw all in all about six different minke whales, every size from a young 5 meter minke whale up to a huge 8 or 9 meter minke whale. But as the rain set in it was time for us to head back to the harbor after a very nice trip to our underwater friends.

12:55
With the wind skimming the top of the waves we went to puffin island were we got a nice welcome from the puffins. We had just reached the whale watching area when we spotted a minke whale. This was a big minke whale that swam fast but still took it's time getting some air, fortunate for us since we could see it better that way. There were about four or five others around but with the waves a bit choppy we
sometimes had a hard time finding them again, plus for some reason they stayed under the surface for a long time. A couple of times we
could follow it's shadow underwater and for a long time until it came back up. We followed about 4 minke whales around but all around there were probably close to 8 minke whales. At the end it had changed to a bit of whale waiting, since they were underwater for a long time but as soon as we had announced that we were starting to head to the harbor a minke whale came up within 100 meters from us, and this one was a beauty showing itself very well, 50 meters, 20 meters in front of the ship and then 20 meters from the side and finally to the back
of the ship, very close. What an ending, seeing it make big clouds as it blew the water from it's breathing hole. We went to harbor a bit
wind-beaten but so happy, and the scenery on the way back was breathtaking with the play of the sun and clouds that looked like slow-motion waterfalls on the mountains. Absolutely stunning.

16:55
This was a special trip indeed. With the weather not at it's greatest with rain and wind, so was the nature not bringing it's A-game. We went to puffin island and to our surprise the island was empty of puffins. It it drawing to the end of the puffin season, some of the young birds have started to fly and their parents have left the island to get a bit of extra energy out on the bay for the winter, while the others have gone out to the bay to get some food for their young. But we of course did see some puffins at the bay, even a few very close. The wind was picking up the waves and making it a bit difficult to spot the whales, although this kind of weather does provide the best chance to see the mighty blow from the whales, as the waves go over their back as they exhale. We started pretty well, seeing a big minke whale coming only 100 meters from us but it didn't show itself again and few of our passengers actually saw it. This happened two or three more times, the black back of the minke whales shooting by us and never being seen again but as the first time they were usually gone as soon as our passengers looked around. Then we started a kind of "Marco Polo" game with the whales. They shot up their blows here and there and we rushed to the spot where they were and then saw another blow somewhere else and sailed there, and so on and so forth. We had all our passengers searching diligently with us all around the ship but with no luck, the whales just didn't give us a chance this time. As our policy is to have everyone smiling when we go back to the harbor we offer our passengers to come back for a free tour and hope to see them again sooner or later and hope for better luck next time.

Friday, August 13th

08:55
When we left Reykjavik harbor it was absolutely pouring, there was so much rain that there was no good way of staying out side, even in
raincoats. But luckily the rain subsided as we got to puffin island where the puffins showed us that there is no reason to complain about
a bit of "liquid sunshine". The sail to the whale watching area was a smooth one, and before long we had found our first minke whale. It was in a nice "whale watching mood", as it came up often and stayed around us for a long time. But when it picked up speed we turned around and headed to two other minke whales that were close to each other. We got a bit of choice anxiety when we had to choose which one we wanted to go after when they split up. It didn't matter too much because both of them disappeared for a very long time. But in the mean while we got a bit of entertainment for a short while from a pod of white beaked dolphins. If there is anything cuter than a dolphin it must be a baby dolphin, and in the pod there was at least one tiny little baby dolphin. Around the same time we spotted harbor porpoises close to the ship. There were two of them swimming fast, looking like they were chasing fish because of their erratic behavior. In a short while we found our minke whales but they gave us their final farewell as it was time for us to go back to Reykjavik harbor.

12:55
The wind had died down and the rain was gone. The puffins greeted us, thousands together, flying all around us and sitting at their
appartments. It was almost a Caribbean feeling sailing in the warm air, with the sun shining and the wind in our back so we didn't feel
it at all. We soon found our first minke whale very soon when we had reached the whale watching area, and almost at the same moment the ocean seemed full of minke whales. Black backs popping up here and there around the area. We had lost count in the end but all the minke whales we followed were probably about 7 in all, only the ones we saw up-close. There was a lot of sandeel in the ocean, so much that we could actually see black spots on the ocean and the water splashed when they got scared of birds or, when we were lucky, a second before a whale came up lunge feeding. We saw a few of those, most about 200 meters from us but just as we were starting to sail back to the harbor one of the minke whales caught our attention for some reason. Lucky for us that we followed it because we saw it head straight to a school of fish and we knew what it was about to do so everyone had their cameras ready on burst mode for the minke whale to come up lunge feeding. To our surprise it really came up, only about 50 meters from us, and went belly-up and landed on it's back, showing us it's pectoral fins (flippers) and how big they get when they have their mouth full of water. After this big finale we sailed back to the harbor with thousands of great photos and even better, our mind full of great memories of a good visit to the whales of the bay.

16:55
The sky had gone a bit gray but the ocean was still somehow colorful and magical. To our surprise there were no puffins at puffin island
and we only saw about four or five of them flying around it. But we knew that there was a lot of the puffin's favorite food out in the bay
so they were excused to get food for their young. Our passengers had good humor for this and some suggested that we should at least give these five puffins names for their courtesy of showing up :) Like earlier today the cruise to our main area was a smooth one. We got
good assistance from our passengers to search for our first whale and before long one of our passenger spotted something out of the
ordinary. Only 200 meters away a minke whale was coming up for a breath. We followed it for a while or until it lead us to two other
minke whales. For a moment we had three minke whales in front of the ship. They showed themselves pretty well and one of them seemed very curious about us turning around and coming towards us. When it went for a deep dive and we lost it for a few minutes at a time, it didn't seem to matter where we went in the meanwhile it always came up close to us, once within 10 meters from the back of the ship. Then we really got a good reference for it's size, when it was only 5 meters or so from our safety-boat at the back. This was a big adult minke whale, most likely about 8-9 meters and very likely a female because of it's size. But soon after this good show they all disappeared, and we spent the last few minutes at the bay looking into the big blue hoping to find one of it's magical animals coming up for a breath. Once again we headed back to land, for the last time today, after a wonderful day on the bay.

Thursday, August 12th

08:55
It was foggy and rainy this morning but we were still very motivated to go out and see the birds and whales. At the island Lundey we had lots of Puffins to see. Around 7 miles from that place there was an area with lots of birds and Minke whales. We stopped our boat and enjoyed the whales surfacing all around us. There were at least 20 of them and some of them were jung juveniles. Sometimes they came very close. Also Gannets were feeding everywhere. For a moment we could also see Harbour porpoises surfacing. Great tour!

12:55
On the island Lundey we had many Puffins but unfortunately not so many whales in the bay. There were few Minke whales to see but only for a short time and they dived very long. So we offered our pasangers another trip for free and fortunately most of them can join us again.

16:55
In the evening it was still foggy but it stopped raining. When we arrived close to the island Lundey we realised that there are only very few Puffins close to their nests and all the others are feeding out on the sea. We could also see them later when we were watching the Minke whales. This tour was quite nice as the Minke whales came close to our boat and then in the end when we wanted to go back, one of the Minke whales started to lift the beak above the surface. It looked like it wants to stay with us a bit longer so we waited and could see it doing it two more times. It was curious looking around:)and it left a big smile on our faces.

Wednesday, August 11th

08:55
This morning was very nice and calm. Our tour started with sailing to the island Lundey full of Puffin birds. Lots of birds on the sea also indicated that there is plenty of food and the whales will be gathering together. Minke whales were today all around us and they were surfacing all the time so sometimes there were many at the surface at the same time and we had to be looking fast and few of them were so close, that we could even sea their white side flippers which is usually not visible. Little later there was also a group of White beaked dolphins, and they were so fast traveling. We admired them for some time and headed happy to the harbor.

12:55
We had a very nice and sunny weather on this tour. We sailed from the northern side of the island Lundey because there were more Puffins there than from the southern side. In the bay in the similar area like this morning Minke whales were feeding together. We could see some of them surfacing at the same time and there was also a calf. From the birds there were so many Gannets and also a lot of jung Gannets. Puffins were also to see. And it was a nice tour.

16:55
There were not so many Puffins this evening on the island Lundey but there were out in the bay feeding. Together with the Minke whales that were surfacing all around us we were watching also the Gannets and their spectacular feeding technique. We found an area where there were plenty of them and they fullfiled our tour while the Minke whales were diving. There were moments when the whales were all together at the surface and then again diving for some time. Like there were sinchronized. With the sun shining on the ocean it was a beautiful evening.

Tuesday, August 10th

08:55
We had a gray morning when we sailed out to puffin island, but the number of puffins amazed us all. Thousands of puffins were sitting on
the ocean when we arrived, and when we got closer they took to flight and flew all around us. We headed out to our whale watching area and we didn't waste time searching for our first minke whale. A nice big minke whale kept us company for a long time and navigated us through a bit of an adventure trail. First we followed it through a big flock of gannets that dove into the ocean all around us. Then we watched as seagulls soared in to catch some sandeal that reacted by splashing around at the surface making ripples over a large area.  As the adventure trail was coming to an end two other minke whales joined us, doing a bit of synchronized swimming in front of us. One of them was asmall 4 meter baby minke whale that was