Reykjavík Grapevine - 24.09.2010, Page 34

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The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 15 — 2010
Travel | Whale watching
Whale watching tour provided by Elding.
Book trip at www.elding.is or +354 555 3565
Words
Wiebke Wolter
Photography
Hvalreki
We knew we were in the right place as we spotted a
bunch of funny looking tourists dressed up in warm
suits provided by Elding tours looking prepared for
a rough afternoon in Faxaflói bay. As we boarded
the double decker tourist boat, I felt a surge of ex-
citement at the thought of seeing some whales, the
majestic kings of the sea (or was that sharks?). The
boat sailed out of the harbour, and our guide came
onto the intercom to explain the best way to spot
a whale. “Look out for white crests or blows”, she
told us. “Birds flying around are also a good sign,
because they might be looking for the same fish
to eat.”

DEAD SEA...
The first thirty minutes, I concentrated on the sur-
face of the ocean. Surrounded by nothing but water
and a few birds, I got more and more impatient. Our
guide explained how to inform the others if we spot-
ted something. “Whale at twelve o'clock” means
right in front of us, and “whale at three o'clock”, on
the right side of the boat (or starboard, to say it in
a more nautical way). She sounded surprisingly op-
timistic. But I was convinced we wouldn't see any-
thing at all, so I decided to just hang out in the sun
and at least enjoy some wave watching.
DOLPHIN SPOTTED
Then, all of a sudden, I heard someone shouting:
“White-beaked dolphins at eleven o'clock”. Every-
body moved to the left side of the boat, holding on
to the rail or the next person or anything else they
could grab, because the boat was rocking quite a
bit by now. My stomach churned and I really wished
I had taken the anti-seasickness pill offered by the
girl at the Elding ticket office.
Arriving on the other side of the boat, I was dis-
appointed to catch only a small glimpse of some-
thing grey disappearing into the water. However,
my disappointment didn't last long, because the
speakers soon announced more dolphins were to
be seen. The whole crowd moved from one side of
the boat to the other to see them. The dolphins kept
running us back and forth from on one side to the
other—well, except for those taking a closer look at
their seasickness bags.
uNDERWATER DINNER PARTy!
“Blow of a whale twelve o'clock!" The boat sped
up in pursuit of something splashing about ahead
of us. As we got closer, our guide told us it was a
minke whale, a type of baleen whale, which filters
food from the water. Our guide was explaining that
minke whales measure an average of seven metres,
can dive for around twenty minutes and swim up to
40 km/h, when she interrupted herself, announcing
a cascade of uncountable “one o'clock, two o'clock,
three o'clock whales”.
We found ourselves in the middle of a whale of
a dinner party: minke whales, white-beaked dol-
phins and dozens of gannets all feeding together.
This scene totally made up for the slow beginning.
A group of gannets hovered above until—out of no-
where—the whole swarm plunged into the water,
head first, in a suicidal fashion. Gannets dive up to
100 km/h to catch fish in very deep water. It was
extremely entertaining to watch these fascinating
birds. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to say it, this be-
ing about a whale watching tour, but the suicidal
gannets were the secret stars of this trip.
Elding offers whale-watching tours every day at 9:00 and
13:00 during September, and in October daily at 13:00.
Adults pay 8.000 ISK, for children the price is 3.500 ISK.
Dinner Party In faxaflói Bay
Whale watching actually means watching a lot of whales
Always best price online.
Various online-offers to all Air Iceland's destinations.
www.airiceland.is
websales@airiceland.is / tel. +354 570 3030 Contact Air Iceland or
travel agent for reservation.
ÍS
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5
13
93
0
9/
20
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KEFLAVÍK
BORGARNES
STYKKISHÓLMUR
SNÆFELLSJÖKULL
DRANGAJÖKULL
FLATEY
NESKAUPSTAÐUR
BLÖNDUÓS
SIGLUFJÖRÐUR
BOLUNGARVÍK
HRÍSEY
NARSARSSUAQ
Greenland
FAROE ISLANDS
REYKJAVÍK
AKUREYRI
EGILSSTAÐIR
ÍSAFJÖRÐUR
VOPNAFJÖRÐUR
ÞÓRSHÖFN
HÚSAVÍK
GRÍMSEY
KULUSUK
Greenland
Blue Lagoon
AKRANES Geysir
Gullfoss
Jökullónið
Kárahnjúkar
Kra a
Hallormstaður
NUUK
Greenland
ILULISSAT
Greenland
www.airiceland.is
CONSTABLE POINT
Greenland