14th – 15th – Crossing to Iceland

Due to the crossing and having nothing important scheduled there would be no wakeup call so I set my alarm to 0800 when breakfast started which would still give me an hour to get something to eat. Waking up a few minutes before the alarm when off I decided to skip breakfast and instead just take my time getting up and ready. A while later I overheard that a sperm whale had been spotted during the beginning of breakfast which annoyed me to no end. It did help a bit when I later found out that not much else than a dorsal fin was seen.

A recovery from the morning’s disappointment was made when I was standing outside during the day looking for whales (or anything else interesting that decided to make themselves noticed). With the assistance of a helpful guide’s sharp eyes we saw a humpback whale breaching. I only just caught the first jump out the corner of my eye but the second was spot on as we now more or less knew where it was. It was far away with low visibility but I was still satisfied as it was something I had been hoping to see for some time.

Greetings from a humpback.

Pomarine jaeger.

A mother humpback and her calf.

The rest of the first day was uneventful and in the evening the ship held its first Expedition Got Talent show where anybody could step up and show off a (hidden) talent. While there was singing, playing, recitals and a guide couple showing off skills in African Boot Dancing the evening slowly turned into a karaoke show – which for the record wasn’t a disappointment as it was its very own level of entertainment.

Things took a slight turn during the night as northern lights were spotted above us. As opposed to last sighting we had overcast weather so we didn’t get to see the lights directly. Instead they lighted up the clouds in greens which resulted in a quite surreal view. But I can’t help think that if the lights were enough to make the clouds that green there must have been quite a lot going on above.

Second day of the crossing we were still having great conditions. We were (still) on the lookout for whales as we were nearing the point where it might be the last chance to get to see them on the tour. During the period of 0900-1700 we had two confirmed spouts and 2 maybes. The wind picked up during the afternoon when we first saw the coast of Iceland, followed by light random drizzle devolving into rain, and while this did make it harder to spot anything it felt like nothing but a wet desert.

Reaching the coast of Iceland. 

Northern gannet.

Reykjavik by night.

We had our final briefing that evening with cocktails and snacks with the captain, a raffle and as usual auctioneering off the ship’s flag. Dinner was enjoyed and during our drinks in the bar afterwards we docked in Reykjavik.

Third time's the charm....