Husavik: Iceland’s Whale Watching Capital
We made sure to visit Husavik since it’s the center of Iceland’s whale watching business. The cute town is nestled around the harbor. We got into oversized waterproofed jumpsuits and hunkered down for the ride north into Skjálfandi Bay, a designated whale sanctuary. It was freezing. The company – North Sailing uses authentic oak schooners as part of its whale watching fleet, ours was the Saeborg. They had called us earlier in the day to let us know the weather was expected to take a turn for the worse and suggested we take an earlier excursion than planned. We did, thankfully. Later would’ve been more windy and even colder.
Many types of whales frequent these seas, and we saw four humpback whales and spent time following and watching them. The highlight was an unusual grouping of three of these usually solitary animals – but two of the three were a mother and baby – so cool to see. The whales’ journey to the colder waters for feeding and I have to say, trips in Alaska are definitely more comfortable. On this afternoon, we welcomed the mugs of hot chocolate they passed out on the trip back in (the cinnamon bun was cold, but I ate it anyway)!
Cool, oh, cold!
FABULOUS experience!!!! Keep warm!
Whales! We have watched whales in several locations (not Iceland, unfortunately), and loved every second. So glad to relive our whale watching experiences through your beautiful post!
So happy to hear you enjoyed it and I really appreciate your kind words.
Love whale watching! I’ve never seen a Mom with her child whale! Baby is still learning to flip her tail at the end. Like in the commercial!
Linda
I know- I thought the same think about that baby. Maybe it didn’t have the strength yet to flip the tail. It made almost freezing worthwhile.
Cool!!!!
Wish I was there. It sounds cool.
Hi Karen good to see you are on your travels again,your comments are so descriptive,I almost feel that I am on the trip with you,how thrilling to see the whales, even better if the weather had been kinder,any plans to extend your trip?no doubt you are making the most of every day, hopefully you will enjoy some amazing scenery,best wishes for the rest of the trip.. from Pauline
Great to hear from you again! We’ve been blessed with good weather for most of the trip and are now winding up. I hope to get your way sometime soon. So many plans delayed these past two years.