This morning we made our way to the harbour, with some of the world’s largest mammals on our minds . . . we were going whale watching! We chose the Elding tour company, impressed by both their advertised tours and by their ethical standpoint: they stand firmly against commercial whaling - unfortunately a practice that Iceland and a few other countries still participate in - and also follow a strict code of respect for the magnificent animals that people from around the globe come to watch in their natural environment.
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| Couldn't have said it better ourselves! |
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| The harbour as seen from our boat as we headed out to sea. |
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| A view of Harpa from the water. |
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| All cozy and set to see some whales! |
Knowing that the girls’ expectations were very likely formed by some slightly idealistic video footage and photos that they’ve seen over the years, we told them that the likelihood of seeing anything all that impressive was highly unlikely. How fortunate we were that the waters were relatively calm and that a number of the animals felt like saying Hello to us today. In addition to a variety of marine birds, including puffins, we saw three different species of cetacea: porpoises (small and elusive), a number of minke whales, and a humpback whale!!! We were excited, to say the least! We trailed the humpback for quite some time, observing some of its behaviours, including spouting from its blowhole, cresting the surface, lunge-feeding, and we were also lucky enough to see its tail numerous times as it dove down into the waters more deeply. It was a truly awesome experience to be able to see some of these wonderful creatures with whom we share this planet. And in addition to watching the whales, the time spent out on the water also afforded us a new perspective of the city and harbour.
After docking, we spent the afternoon wandering through the downtown streets, lunching on a patio, and choosing a souvenir or two. And our evening was a cozy one in, eating left-overs, playing cards together, and watching some Olympic coverage and a movie . . . it was neat how this little place had come to feel kinda like home.
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Whimsical sculpture that we found in the IcelandAir Hotel as we walked
through the ground floor areas. |
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| Hanging around downtown Reyjkavik. |
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| Patio time! |
Our final full day in Iceland will be detailed in Day Ten's instalment of our trip. Please tune in to read about yet another day my family and I will never forget as we wrapped up our time in Iceland!
My wonder: Have you ever been whale watching? Where were you and which species of cetacea did you see?
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