Saturday, 8 July 2017

What a beautiful Icelandic summer day in the fjord today. It started off with a sunny morning and mirror-like sea conditions. And when we arrived in the area around Hjalteyri we were greeted by many whales. Apparently, many new humpback whales found their way deep into the fjord in the night before. We spotted at least 14 different individuals. Thus, the 7 whales we had been seeing over the last days got company from whales known from the last year, but also some which had not been spotted here before. How exiting! All day long we enjoyed watching the elegant giants. We saw them feeding at the surface, resting, surfacing and circling around the vessel and showing their gorgeous flukes. Some of us got even very lucky and saw one or the other breaching and slapping their tail or pectoral fin onto the water surface, creating massive splashes. For most of us this will be a day always to remember.

Text by Nicole Koestner

Pictures by Manu Bassoi