ICELAND, REYKJAVIK: PUFFIN AND WHALE-WATCHING TOURS

June 10, 2019

We planned two boat tours out of the Reykjavik Harbor, one to look for puffins and one to look for whales. On previous trips, we had good success seeing puffins and whales in Alaska and whales in the Bay of Fundy, New Brunswick. We were sure Iceland would provide an even better viewing experience.

Wrong.

Let's start with the puffin cruise. We went with one other couple from our group, and the best part (just a bit of foreshadowing here) was that we got to put on these cherry-red moon-landing suits:

Riding in the rubber boat was like riding a horse; we straddled a padded seat and hung on to the bars in front of us. The boat was completely open, and yes, the suits did indeed keep us warm out on the water, as promised:

Our friendly guide pointed out landmarks along the way, such as the beautiful and very distinct Harpa Concert Hall:

When we asked our guide what this big green half-orb is, she shrugged and said, "Some kind of art."  I've learned that the 26-foot-tall mound of earth and grass is indeed meant to be art. It was created in 2014 by a local woman named Ólöf Nordal (who has an MFA in sculpture from Yale), who says it is "a place for inner peace and meditation." On top of the hill, which supposedly offers great views of the city, is a fish-drying shed. I have no idea if it gets used. Interesting.

It was fun to look back at the Reykjavik skyline from out in the harbor. As usual, it's not hard to find the Hallgrimskirkja:

We pulled up alongside a few rocky/grassy islands, the perfect place for puffins, and we looked and looked for the cute little birds:

The flora was great but the fauna was conspicuously absent.

Wait! I think I see something!

Yes, it is a single lonely puffin!

Wait! There's another one!

And another!

Yeah, completely underwhelming.

We also saw what I thought were nesting gulls, but Bob says they are fulmars, cousins of petrels:

Here is my close-up:

And here is Bob's much better one:

We did see a few puffins in the water:

They are fun to watch taking off. It's not a particularly graceful process:

We did see one grey seal, although from rather far away. Isn't he cute?

And that's it for wildlife sightings. On our way back into port, the skipper of our boat hit the gas pedal and went full speed around the harbor, doing a few moderately thrilling curves and loop-de-loops. I think he was either trying to launch us out of the boat or make us so seasick that we wouldn't ask for a refund.

The next morning we got picked up at 8:30 and transported to the docks to join a whale-watching expedition. Unfortunately, I left my camera in our hotel room, but no worries, there really wasn't much to take a picture of.

We went further out to sea on this trip, and the water was glassy calm, which meant I didn't need the scopolamine patch and the Dramamine pill I had take as a pre-emptive measure. (I was thinking of a gnarly experience I had in the Kenai fjords in 2016 and wasn't going to take any chances.)

We were also a bigger boat with a cabin area, and it was a warmer day, so no need for the moon suits.

We didn't see much--a few minke whale fins and some porpoises--but it was a relaxing morning.

With only my cell phone for picture-taking, I really missed the zoom lens on my camera. There are whales out there:

Or are they porpoises?

Yeah, porpoises.

I suppose there are worse ways to spend a morning than floating around the Reykjavik Harbor and the Greenland Sea on a beautiful summer day. It's just a matter of changing one's expectations.