This morning we grabbed a cache on the way out of Akureyri, to set us up for find number 400 at a waterfall later in the day. Then it was off to Húsavík for our whale watching tour with Gentle Giants. We picked up breakfast at a cafe/bakery once we arrived, then headed over to get prepped for the tour. Our guide Theresia helped us into flotation suits to keep us warm and safe during the tour. She Also suggested goggles and gloves which turned out to be a wise choice. Luckily I was able to clip my camera bag to a loop on the front of the suit.

Me rocking a flotation suit.

Our tour was on a rigid inflatable boat (RIB), so it was pretty maneuverable and could move across the water quickly. It also happened to be a brand new one, so we were lucky enough to join for its maiden voyage. After getting everyone settled into their saddle-style seats, we sped off straight for puffin island. This island has 30,000 mated pairs nesting on it currently. During peak season later this summer, there will be as many as 100,000 pairs. We idled nearby to take in the sights: puffins in the water, flying overhead, and sitting on the island. Some interesting puffin facts we learned from Theresia:

• Puffins can’t glide, so they never stop flapping their wings while flying.
• They mate for life and both sit on their egg.
• They lay one egg each season. (one at a time).
• They dig a hole for the nest which has its own “toilet” to keep the rest of the nest clean.
• When both puffins leave the nest, the male returns to the nest first to clean the house before the female gets back.
• Puffins are sometimes called the clowns of the ocean as they can be quite clumsy.

The puffins stayed far enough away that getting a close up shot was difficult without a zoom lens, but this gives a good view of the island and the puffins flying around in the air.

Soon it was time to leave the puffins to look for something larger. After what felt like a really long time speeding across the bay, the captain finally turned the boat sharply as they had spotted some white-beaked dolphins. They were around us on all sides for a while. They eventually travelled too far for us to follow, so we turned back into the bay. It wasn’t too long before someone finally spotted a whale. More specifically, a humpback. We saw him surface for a few breaths, then flip his fluke out of the water and dive deeper. After about 5 minutes (Theresia was timing) he was back again. Soon we realized there where actually two humpbacks, one on each side of us. From that point the two mirrored one another. When one surfaced or dove, the other did, too. Every 4-5 minutes, they would resurface, the captain would speed the RIB over to the whales , and we had our own private show. Very cool! With all this activity on both sides, I was having difficulty capturing the right timing for pictures until in remembered that the camera has burst mode.

Just barely captured some spray from the blowhole as this humpback surfaced.

Here are the two humpbacks diving deep, almost in unison.

Here is the humpback that surfaced with his mouth open amongst all of the boats. This picture makes it look further away than it really was. I would estimate it broke the surface about 12 feet from our boat.

Our last whale of the day, a mink.

At this point Theresia decided to get us drunk. OK, not really, but she did offer us a shot of local liquor made from lava moss and other wild plants. It had a very earthy flavor but was surprisingly good. After some small talk, it was time to head back. On the way, we stopped where a large group of boats had gathered in one area, and we joined them for a few minutes. In short order we saw two more humpbacks, as well as a mink whale. One of the humpbacks surfaced with his mouth open right next to our boat. Everyone wanted to stay longer, but we had to head back to keep the tours in schedule. All in all, a great way to spend the morning.