Reykjavík Grapevine - sep. 2019, Síða 46

We knew that it was getting serious
when they brought out the waterproof
boiler suits. It was 8:50 PM, and we
were standing at the Elding pier in
Akureyri, the largest town in Northern
Iceland, preparing to join an express
whale watching tour. Our goal was
to see the majestic humpback whale,
and perhaps a dolphin or two, and
we would travel on a specially modi-
fied RIB boat to do so. Hence, we were
kitted out with what felt like enough
gear to go to the moon, with goggles,
gloves and lifejackets atop waterproof
overalls.
Suitably armoured, we stepped into
the little motorboat. Though Akureyri
sits on the coast, it is nestled deep in-
side one of Iceland’s longest fjords. To
get to the whales, we had to travel to
the end of the fjord. Before long, we
were going nearly full speed, bounc-
ing over the surface of the water while
Akureyri rapidly disappeared behind
us. The fjord was lit by the evening
sun, still high in the sky but just be-
ginning to descend, and the views
were phenomenal. For nearly an hour
we sped along. The noise of the speed-
boat made talking effectively impos-
sible, but the beauty of the landscape
was so striking that it didn’t matter.
We were all utterly captivated.
Silvery Streaks
As we approached the end of the fjord,
the water became choppier and the
wind stronger. I started to regret not
grabbing a woollen hat before we de-
parted—it was so chilly it felt like my
ears were about to snap off. At that
very moment our guide gave a shout
and gestured. Up ahead there was mo-
tion in the water. And then, almost
like an illustration in their perfect
form, several dolphins began to leap
out of the sea.
As we approached, the water be-
gan to fill with silvery streaks as they
sped along, comfortably matching the
reduced speed of our boat. Our guide
explained that, when they leapt out of
the sea, they would smack the water
with their tails, thus stunning other
fish and making them easier prey. But
it was clear from watching that there
was also a keen sense of play here,
especially amongst the younger dol-
phins in the pod. It was truly infec-
tious, and we could have spent much
longer enjoying their company.
Like nothing else
But we had bigger goals yet, so we
moved on from the cavorting ceta-
ceans and sped on, out into the open
ocean, where the water was rougher
still. The boat was gently brought to
a halt and as the sound of the engine
faded, the roar of the sea rushed in
to take its place. I suddenly felt very
small. We scanned the seas, looking
for signs of whales: either a blast of
vapour from their blowholes or, if we
were lucky, a whale actually breaching.
Now that the engine was off, the boat
was being rocked sharply amongst the
breaking crests of the waves, I began
to wonder whether we would see a
whale even if one surfaced. But then
there was a great spray of water in the
distance, bigger than any of the waves,
and, thrillingly, a massive, dark shape
leapt clean into the air and came down
with a great splash. I needn’t have
worried about spotting it amongst
the waves—a breaching humpback
whale is unmistakable. The thrill of
the chase set upon us, and we sped in
the direction of the spray, bouncing
across the choppy waves.
We slowed down as we approached
where the whale had breached, desper-
ately scanning the water for another
glimpse. Before long, there was an-
other blast of air and suddenly it was
there, a deep dark shape briefly skim-
ming the surface of the sea. It dived
below the surface and, with a splash,
its impossibly large tail was raised
high above the water, beautifully
speckled with unique white spots. And
then it was gone as the humpback, so
our guide explained, potentially as far
as sixty metres into the chilly depths.
We remained watching for a glo-
rious forty minutes or so. While the
humpbacks can stay under for as long
as half an hour, they more commonly
surface again after ten or fifteen min-
utes and usually in a similar place to
where they dived. But we were lucky
that evening because there were as
Distance from
Reykjavík:
388 km
How to get there:
Take route 1
highway north

Accommodation
provided by: akureyri-
backpackers.is
Tour provided by:
elding.is
Car provided by:
hertz.is
46The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 14— 2019
Unto The Breach
Encountering the humpback whale in Akureyri
Words: Felix Robertson Photos: Art Bicnick
Travel
“It was a
piece of
quintes-
sentially
Icelandic
magic”
Barbara explains... A whale of a tail
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A seagull munching on some jellyfish