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)!
