On our last full day in the north, before heading to the Westfjords, we had a leisurely morning before a 2 hour drive to Husavik for a whale watching boat tour. We were very excited for this and it turned out to be one of the highlights of all of our time in Iceland. Once we arrived and checked in, we got fully geared up, similarly to the glacier lagoon boat tour, in a waterproof safety flotation suit and life jacket. After we got on the boat, we first motored out to a small island that provided nesting grounds for many sea birds, including puffins! While we have seen puffins in a variety of situations, this, again, provided a new layer of experience and understanding. Because we were in a smaller boat (smaller than the ferry) out at sea, we could follow them in flight, see their speed, and watch them more closely dip under the water for fish. It was a good beginning of the boat tour!
We then motored further out in search of whales. The guide and driver were a good tandem. The guide would spot a whale and call out the position and the driver would immediately try to get the boat best positioned to see and experience the whale. We saw a total of about a dozen humpback whales, some of them with multiple sightings. The only other time we had gone whale watching was off the coast of Santa Barbara, California USA years ago with, I believe, Henry and Ezra before Naomi was born. We saw three whales then, but only patches of their sides. Today, we saw the tail of nearly every whale we saw, which was very cool. And then…we actually saw a whale fully breach! It was an extraordinary sight, most of which I got on video (I had my camera out and started the video as soon as I could.) It was amazing to see a creature of that size (who must have to build up vast speed under water to propel itself so high) jet out of the water and crash back into the ocean. The tour guide said it is incredibly rare to see a breach during a tour. He told us that while whales breach every day, it is very rare to be on a boat that happens to be close to the specific spot in the ocean that has the specific whale that is breaching at that specific moment. It was an awesome experience!
After the exceptional experience with the humpback whales, we went back to Olafsfjordur for our last night in that area. On the way, we stopped at the scenic pulloff for an amazing and, for us, yet unique waterfall: one that emptied directly into the sea. We spotted it on our way into town several days before, but it had been too misty for a photograph each day we passed it since then. As we could actually see it now, we decided to stop for a moment to capture a photo and video (you can’t get all that close to it.) Finally, we granted the kids’ wish for a few more minutes on the jumping pillow before Ezra’s last soccer training in the north. We then went to bed and prepared to leave to begin the journey to the Westfjords the next morning.
See you on the next mountain!
July 17, 2025 – Total Steps 14,251 (Little Elevation)
