Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.06.2009, Side 38

26
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 7 — 2009
Tips from our photographer:
"You shouldn't really go whale watching
unless you're really interested in whale
watching. It's not a tour of duty."
Fly and discover
Action-packed day tours 2009
www.airiceland.is
Nature’s Hot Spot
Vestmannaeyjar
8 hour Day Tour
Highlights of the North
Mývatn
12 hour Day Tour
Beyond the Arctic Circle
Grímsey
2 or 5 hour Evening Tour
Lake Mývatn
Mývatn
12 hour Day Tour
websales@airiceland.is / tel. +354 570 3030 Contact Air Iceland or
travel agent for reservation.
In the Footsteps of the Fishermen
Eskifjörður
10 hour Day Tour
A Different World
Greenland – Kulusuk – Ammassalik
2 night Hotel Package
Remarkable Greenland
Greenland – Kulusuk
8 hour Day Tour
Birds and Blue Waters
Ísafjörður
12 hour Day Tour
Jewels of the North
Mývatn
12 hour Day Tour
Air Iceland is your West Nordic airline, a customer-driven service company
responsible for scheduled domestic flights and flights from Iceland to the
Faroe Islands and Greenland.
Air Iceland offers a variety of day tour packages, in Iceland and to Greenland,
which include flight, bus transfer and guidance. All these magical locations are
but a short, comfortable flight from Reykjavik. Come fly with Air Iceland
BORGARNES
STYKKISHÓLMUR
SNÆFELLSJÖKULL
DRANGAJÖKULL
FLATEY
NESKAUPSTAÐUR
BLÖNDUÓS
SIGLUFJÖRÐUR
BOLUNGARVÍK
HRÍSEY
FAROE ISLANDS
AKUREYRI
EGILSSTAÐIR
VESTMANNAEYJAR
ÍSAFJÖRÐUR
VOPNAFJÖRÐUR
ÞÓRSHÖFN
HÚSAVÍK
GRÍMSEY
Blue Lagoon
Geysir
Gullfoss
Jökullónið
Kárahnjúkar
Krafla
Hallormstaður
CONSTABLE POINT
Greenland
IIULISSAT
Greenland
KULUSUK
Greenland
NUUK
Greenland
NARSARSSUAQ
Greenland
AKRANES
REYKJAVÍK
KEFLAVÍK
ÍS
L
E
N
S
K
A
S
IA
.I
S
F
L
U
4
64
58
0
6.
20
09
Travel | Activity
Free Minke
What a lovely day to be out, the sun shin-
ing for once with a crisp sea breeze. Per-
fect conditions to clamber aboard a boat
and spot some sea mammals. Note: not
the perfect way to nurse a hangover.
Elding tours located in the old har-
bour of Reykjavík claim a staggering
95% sighting guarantee. If you’re one
of the unfortunate 5% then you’re gen-
erously offered another tour for free.
Lucky for me, and a few dozen others,
we saw a whole lot of blubber – both on
board and in the ocean of course.
We set off punctually at 9:00 aboard
SS Elding I, complete with 3 viewing
platforms, a bar (serving special Whale
Punch – a coffee and rum concoction)
and numerous children kitted out with
luminous orange light jackets and
packed lunches. Strangely reminiscent
of a school trip, the journey was both
restless and nauseating.
First stop was the tiny landmass of
Akurey, otherwise known as Puffin
Island. An accurate description as it is
solely inhabited by puffins; by this I
mean a shit load of puffins! Be sure to
catch these vibrant birds when they’re
there (between the months of May and
August).
Our voyage to the unsheltered Fax-
af lói bay was pleasantly interrupted by
not only Harbour Porpoises but also
three White-beaked dolphins showing
off for the numerous cameras. It proved
to be a rather moving experience, or
that could have just been the seasick-
ness.
Everyone rushed to the front of the
deck, crammed like seamen in the pro-
verbial nut sack, at the first mention of
a Minke Whale from our very pleasant
and informative tour guide. Appar-
ently a juvenile surfaced just less than
5 meters away from us, but I couldn’t
see from the masses of people and their
lenses. However, the absolutely frenzied
look on those folk’s faces was in and of
itself well worth the trip.
— JONATHAN BAKER ESq
Whale Watching With Elding
www.elding.is