Out last full day aboard started with a morning call saying the 2 shore excursion’s we had were too close and 1 had to be dropped……down to the Guest Information…..put on standby for one of them after a few words….

Cool overcast day

Our first option was a wildlife cruise in a branch of Isafjordur. It was a small ship with most of the seating outside. Our guide, Tom, promptly welcomed us to a Puffin cruise, perhaps with some other wildlife. No worries, I thought I wouldn’t see any till Shetland. Tom had a lovely Welsh accent and came from Swansea, so having done my Botany Degree there had a lot to share……no worries Boyo !

First humpback

Barely out of the harbour we had a humpback whale ahead, and another, and another…..They led us to a Vigur island, full of puffins fishing, flying and standing guard over their burrows.

Puffins ahead

What a treat ! Our skipper swapped sides as we snapped away and Tom fed us information. After 30 minutes we headed back…

But first we had to stop and meet Octopus, Turbine and Starlight. 3 beautiful Humpback Whales that are regular stars of the fjord.

They were so exciting to see, easily the best tour so far……

Zooming back to make up time
Hang on up front
Tom our guide, plus Ponant Cruise ship in background

We managed a quick bite before queuing up for our second excursion, 2 seats left on the last coach of the day, hooray ! This tour was a 2 hour drive with 3 photo stops and lots of views.

First stop a panorama of our mooring
2nd stop a small fishing village
Dominated by mountains with avalanche barriers
Fishing harbour
Local kids enjoying the tractor playground

Our final stop was an unusual white sand beach, site of an Eiderduck nesting site, and Artic Tern nests.

There were some very protective Artic Tern mothers down here

That evening we packed and had a final dinner in the restaurant with new friends from Queensland. They are staying onboard for a weeks cruise around Iceland, then onto Greenland, Canada and ending in New York. That’s quite a trip, we’ve greatly enjoyed our time onboard Viking Vela but it’s time for us to move on.