P
sychologists say a moment's awe plays
a big role in our health, happiness
and wellbeing. After 90 minutes of
watching humpback whales play
alongside our inflatable RIB in the deep, clear
waters of the Westords, in Iceland, I can
safely say they are right. Awe changes us.
Local boat owner Sigurour whizzed our group
of eight Viking Jupiter passengers from sleepy
Ísafjörður into the Denmark Strait and within
15 minutes we saw the distinctive spray of
humpback whales. Not just one but two,
three, four, five and more. And that's when
the distinction between the emotion of awe
kicked in (rather than inspiration or surprise).
Awe makes us feel small – and when these
playful, gentle giants surrounded us it was the
most humbling connection with ocean life
that anyone could experience. We were in the
whales' hands so to speak, and they embraced
us in their social harmony, singing to each
other (or maybe us) in choruses of deep, low
moans alongside plenty of huffing and
puffing. Segurour explained that the pod
knew his boat and recognised the sound of
the propeller, whether it was on or off. They
were not in the least afraid. It's quite simple
on reflection - if these highly intelligent
mammals can remember specific points in the
world's oceans, and return to the same feeling
spot every year, it would not take much to
remember Sigurour's boat! Up close we could
distinguish the humpbacks' different sizes,
their markings and colour variations from
pure white to solid black on their tail fluke,
each one unique, like a fingerprint said
Sigurour as we counted up to 12 humpbacks
within our view.
The whales glided through the water, each
one the size of a single decker bus, powerful
swimmers skimming our boat in a guard of
honour before breaking off to flex their
butterfly-shaped flukes up, then down, to
dive deep for shrimp feast on the sea bed.
They would sometimes be down for more
than five minutes and we sat silently
wondering where they would come up, often
rising some way ahead and letting out air
with a triumphant noisy blow creating their
giant signature spray of mist. Here, on the
edge of the Arctic Circle, where waterfalls
create rainbows as they run down the side of
flat-top mountains, we sat stunned by the
spectacle we had just witnessed. This was not
just a moment of awe but 90 minutes of pure
magic. Back on Viking Jupiter we celebrated
with a strong aquavit, raising our glasses to
'Good Health', revelling in the knowledge
that such a close encounter was not only a
rare privilege but these priceless moments of
awe will stay with us forever.
Awe makes us feel small – when these
playful gentle giants surrounded us
it was humbling
Atlantic
Ocean
ICELAND
Seydisfjördur
Djúpivogur
Westman Islands
(Heimaey)
Akureyri
Reykjavík
Ísafjördur
–
C r ui s e
••
O ve r night in Po r t
GETTING THERE: The 8-day Iceland's
Natural Beauty voyage roundtrip
from Reykjavík, starts from
$5,895pp in Veranda stateroom.
viking.com
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