Today it is the third Thursday in April and Iceland is celebrating one of its national holidays – Sumardagurinn fyrsti, The First Day of Summer.Nearly all the shops were closed and many festivities were going on all over the country – especially around Reykjavík.
After a good start in the season yesterday we continued today in even better weather. The sun showed its full beauty during the whole trip and not a single cloud dared to cross its way.Due to the fantastic weather we could welcome five passengers on board.
Today we went out for the first trip of the season 2012 – earlier than ever before! In best whale watching conditions we sailed on to Skjálfandi Bay in search for whales. The bigger whales must have had a long lie this morning but we encountered lots of cute harbour porpoises.
We do not count months or weeks anymore. It is only hours left until season 2012 starts on Sunday (15th April). Both crew and boat are ready to leave harbour for whale watching once again - even the weather forecast looks promising.
Today is 1st April and it is only two weeks left until our first whale watching tour will depart; 15th April – (not a joke!) Faldur will be our first oak boat to enter Skjálfandi Bay 2012. He is still on dock for the annual beauty treatment but any day his keel will be wet again.
Our guides spend most of their summers onboard our boats, watching whales and nature together with passengers from all corners of the world. But, what do they do in the winter? The following text is our guide Ann-Sophie's adventurous story:"After working nearly the whole season for GG, I decided to do something different throughout autumn and winter.
The lumpfish season started on Thursday and fishermen are heading out with their nets. Húsavík harbour is full of action those days even though the whale watching season has not begun yet. The owner of Gentle Giants, Stefán Guðmundsson, comes from a long line of fishermen who have been fishing in Skjálfandi bay for centuries.
Time flies and in a few weeks our oak boat Faldur will once again enter our bay, carrying passengers in search for whales. This year we will start earlier than ever before (15th April). The first tour of the year is always as exciting as we never know what the bay has to offer after a long winter.
"Through experiencing how other operators do their whale- and wildlife tours, we get new ideas which might develop our business. You learn a lot about yourself through seeing others" I wrote in an article when Daniel and I had been on a great whale watching tour in Madeira.
Húsavík airport has not been in use during the last ten years or so (unless for special occasions) but this year something big will happen – it reopens for regular traffic. Eagle Air will fly between Reykjavík and Húsavík; seven flights a week - each way.
