Recap Day 4-Whale, Puffin and Dolphin Tour and Flight Home

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Last Day—Monday, May 29, 2006—Temperature: I don’t know but it was cold on the boat!

We started our day quite early…at least Kelly, Angela & Mary Beth. Gayle, having a tendency to become seasick, forewent our whale watching excursion. Even though we were well prepared in winter jackets, hats & gloves, we were none-the-less thankful for the crew’s forethought in providing additional blankets for the trip. The three of us huddled in the blankets, trying to stay warm as we rode on the deck of the ship out to sea. Below deck had a nice viewing area of which we partook on the way back. However we had to have the panoramic view of the mountains and diminishing Reykjavik during our departure. The view was worth it!

We first made a 10-minute jaunt to Puffin Island. Puffin are small, native birds to Iceland which are eaten in the finer dining establishments. However none of the restaurants we visited served Puffin, to Gayle’s disappointment. The best way to describe puffin is to think of the offspring that would result as a romantic tryst between a penguin and Tucan! They are the cutest things! They have quite round bodies and disproportionately small wings so it takes a lot of effort for them to take off from the water in flight. However once in the air, the “flying clowns” (as they are affectionately known) can fly up to 80 km/hr (55m/hr) in speed! Of course their wings go non-stop, much like a bat in flight.

Upon having our fill of puffin viewing, we bundled up for the 25-minute ride out to sea in hopes of whale watching. We were not disappointed. The first sighting produced a scurry aboard with everyone rushing to the front, right-hand side of the boat. Mary Beth had a knack for spotting the rolling, black backs of the gentle sea beasts. However Angela did not at first! Kelly had secured a nice sitting spot at the front of the boat, which we thought was to get a better view without blocking anyone else from the excitement. Kelly later confided that her sit-down technique of viewing stemmed from a sudden seasick feeling and a need to rest awhile. Thank goodness the trick worked and she never did get sick!
It wasn’t long before whale sightings were popping up all over the place…we were surrounded by Minke! A few even came so close as to concern Kelly, just a bit.

Our guide enthusiastically told us that Minke were quite curious creatures that would sometimes get close for a better view themselves. Seems the whale were actually people watching. We were also joined by a small school of dolphin which, to our delight, showed off for the boat. All the activity in the ocean was apparently in response to millions of small sand eel (about 4 inches long) filling that particular spot in the ocean. Our group happened upon a literal sea feast with both animals of the ocean and air enjoying the main course.

Once again having our fill of the excitement, we decided to head below to the warmer viewing area and the bar promising cups of hot cocoa. The hot cocoa was disappointing (at best) but the view was pretty good. Here is where we saw our saddest, yet most interesting site. A dead Minke floated atop the water, belly up. Our guide pointed out that in 12 years this was only the second she had ever viewed. She then gleefully recapped all the animals (alive and dead) we were fortunate to experience upon our trip…thankful to have earned her wages at least for one excursion that week!

Back on land, we head to our guesthouse and gather Gayle and head to lunch at the Vegamot. After lunch, we do some last minute shopping and then catch a cab to the airport.

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Photos

Whale, Dolphin and Puffin Tour
Angela, Mary Beth, and Kelly on Whale, Dolphin and Puffin Tour

Puffin Island
Unfortunately due to the small size of the birds, you cannot actually see them on top of or in the water surrounding the island, but they were everywhere.

Minke Whale Back
It was hard to catch the whales in a picture, but Angela got lucky a few times.

Poor Minke
We saw a lot of live Minke but also witnessed one floating dead. A site not often seen on such excursions.