Whale Dorado!!

Husavik on Iceland is nicknamed the whale watching capital of the world. And the truth is that outside Husavik and a couple of other villages, one can have some whale encounters ranging from great, to amazing to extraordinary. It is an area where the sea is extremely fertile. Daylight 24 hours a day in summer means that the production of biomass is a never stopping process. This is what keeps the whales coming. You find a big numbers of whales here in summer-ranging in size from tiny porpoises to the mighty blue whale itself. The biggest animal in the history of life.

A minke whale calmly swim outside Dalvik. It is the smallest of the baleen whales, reaching  "only"ten tonnes in weight. Being a baleen whale, its diet is not fish, but plankton. It is quite commonly seen, and are good to tourists in that way they take several short dives in a row before going on a serious one-lasting up to 20 minutes, but often only five. And one see when it goes down seriously-it curves its body more than before the breathing break submerging. In the north Atlantic it might be as many as 174.000 individuals of them. A safe species time being.

My whaling adventure started in the bottom of a fiord south of Husavik. I stopped my car, as i saw something moving out there. It was a pod of white beaked dolphins-a species known for its spectacular behaviour. And this pod was at it. Jumping out of the water, smacking the flukes on the surface. They were too far away for me to really appreciate their performance-but i could hear the powerfull when they fell back down in the water, and beat the surface with their flukes.

A pair of white beaked dolphins. They are from 2,5-3 meters long, weighing in at up to 300 kilos. These dolphins are very fast. Very active and on both the occasions i met them, they did acrobatics. They reside permanently in Icelandic waters and are often seen on whale safaris.

 

Dalvik is a small town-by Icelandic standard,. Big village by European standard-south of Husavik. The whale watching experience here is different from that in Husavik-partly because far fewer tourists go there. Partly because it is a different place altogether. When I embarked on my first trip there, I had that "this is wasted cash, I will not see a thing at all"feeling. That all changed. First we saw the white beaked dolphins, busy playing the sea world game for a good 15 minutes before we lost them. Then we saw a pod of killer whales far out. We approached them slowly, then stopped-only drifting with the current. Waiting to see what they would do. Nothing at all to begin with. Then suddenly-as steered by one single hand, they turned towards the boat, coming towards us in great speed. They appeared so determined, goal oriented in their approach. The came closer and closer. Right up to the boat hull. But not stopping there. Like fighter jets flying a display in an airshow they split. Some went under the keel. Some in front of the bow. At full speed like torpedoes. One could see straight down into their blowholes. For a while they now amused us by swimming around us and below us. Back and forth. Up and down. Then they took off as fast as they had arrived.

Compared to sleepy Dalvik, arriving in relaxed Husavik is like coming to a cosmopolitan city. I stayed at the campsite in town. The shower facility there is a no brag thing. But that is of little interest since the towns big thermal bath is a short walk away. That was the first place i visited once my tent was set up and i had moved in. Which included a shot of Brennivin-the national liquor with a black label. It is nicknamed Svarta daudir-meaning black death. With it, the unique Icelandic speciality Hakarl. Sharkmeat that has been somewhat dried and fermented for up to 6 months. A peculiar snack. But i actually do like it. In limited amounts. The price of the stuff do limit the amount all by itself.



Feeling clean-and hot-all the way into the core of my soul. went to the harbour, having a look at the pretty wooden boats used for whale watching by my chosen company Northsail. The boats were earlier used in the fisheries. some were also whaling vessels-still with the lookout barrel in place. But not anymore. The lookout barrel in the mast now only accommodate scientists. From there i made my way to Gamli Baukur, an atmospheric restaurant situated in the harbour. It is build of driftwood collected along the shores and the perfect spot for a beer and a bite. It is the replica of a house built in 1843, which burned down in 1960.

It was with great expectations I boarded Nattfari. We crossed straight over the bay, we already knew it was action over there. Big it turned out. We came in the middle of an eating party with two dozens of big whales-humpbacks and minke whales hanging around. Eating is basically all they do-day and night. The next hour was spent observing whales in all directions, a few seconds at a time. Whales going up and down almost continuously. A big WOW!

Its coming up! By the way, it is coming one up at the other side of the boat as well....

Hello humpback. These whales are among the biggies-25-40 tonnes, and they live long. 95 years. These whales are long distance migrants. Intercontinental migrants.

Serious sized nostrils.

About to dive.

Fluke up!

Down it goes.

Humpback is the entertainers of the big whales. Sometimes they leap, other times they are modest-waiving their fins like this.