One thing that I always wanted to do–but never had the chance before–was whale watching. I tried to go in Vancouver, but it never worked out.

When I decided to go to Iceland, I knew that I had to find a way to make it happen. I mean come on–we were in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean!

We booked our tour with Life of Whales, and excitedly waited for the arrival of the big day.

We relaxed on some large rocks on the pier beside the boat, as we waited for boarding.

The sun was shining, small waves were splashing beneath us, and soft jazz music was playing in the background.

It was lovely.

We boarded the boat and proceeded up to the top deck, where we sat down to enjoy the crêpes that we bought at the flea market, before we backed out of the harbour.

Our boat was named Andrea.

The harbour had a great view of the entire city, especially once we started to make our way into open water.

The photographic opportunities of Reykjavik alone are well worth the tour–and we have only just begun!

It was great to see the new Harpa building from this angle too, the light glistened off of it like the Rainbow Fish!

We chugged along the waterway beside Engey Island, until we emerged into open Sea.

With the coast of Grundarhverfi and Akranes to the North and wide open Ocean in the West, our hopes were high and our excitement had us on edge.

We were going to see our first whales!

The boat was under a quiet buzz as we came to a stop, after about an hour of moving.

Everyone was leaning over the railing, in anticipation for the first sighting. Binoculars and cameras were on standby, and we waited in silence.

“THERE’S A WHALE!” someone screamed from the top deck.

In a split second–everyone was on the North side of the boat. I squeezed my way in to get a better look and to take some photos. It surfaced again.

Each time that it came up, everyone cheered. It was like a collective dream, being lived out by everyone on board. We had all come to see whales, and we were getting exactly what we came for.

They were beautiful.

Above all of the cheering and awing, one French family stood out above the rest. Standing on the upper deck, they usually saw the whales first. “Ouais!”, they called out (a French slang for yes–like yeah) again and again.

Their enthusiasm seemed to pump up the rest of the passengers, and it alerted us that a whale was visible.

We saw a number of Minke whales surface and resurface around the open ocean. Each time was just as exciting as the last, and I probably snapped WAY too many photos.

Eventually I put my camera down and just watched the amazing view.

We watched whales for about an hour before we decided to head back to Reykjavik. I would have loved to have spotted a Humpback whale, but I reassured myself that I would be back to Iceland, and would still have plenty of chances to see one.

Afterall, Humpback whales commonly make appearances on the Life of Whales tours.

I will still very happy to have seen the Minke whales.

During the ride back we sat inside the boat to warm up, and watched the ocean zip by out the window.

Overall, it was an awesome experience and I hope to do it again some time soon!