Thor and “Töpsó”

Thor (6 years old, from Canada/Québec) visited Grundarfjörður with his mum in July 2016. He is an avid orca fan and wanted to see orcas above all else. Unfortunately, orca sightings in July are irregular. There were no orcas spotted on the tour that Thor and his mum and aunt were on, but they did see a huge group of pilot whales and white-beaked dolphins instead! The evening before the whale watch, they also went on a puffin tour, and even got to see a Minke whale.
Thor was so impressed by these experiences that he became a bit obsessed with the Láki boats and advertising. When asked which bedtime story his mum should read out to him, he answered she should read the Láki Tours flyer! His mother had to read this handout to him for a solid six nights during the week of their visit, and she was not allowed to even skip the contact details on the back. We guess that by now nobody knows the brochure as well as Thor (and his persevering mum).

Apart from the newly won knowledge about Láki Tours, Thor also already knew a great deal about orcas when he arrived. His astounding vocabulary as a 6-year-old included the fluent use of words like “marine mammal” or “echolocation”. He was super excited to meet up with Marie and talk orcas for a whole evening. While looking through our orca ID catalogue, he even found a mistake (a juvenile was not marked as juvenile on one page)! Well, Thor, we’ll have you back anytime to proof-read our catalogue!
For helping us out big time with his knowledge and attentiveness, Thor was allowed to name an orca from our catalogue, and decided to call the orca SN175 “Töpsó”. Thor speaks three languages (English, French, and Swedish), but in his own imaginary language “Töpsó” means “sweetheart” or “super sweet creature”. A very good pick! (The alternative was “Tusse, the herring slayer”!) We hope that Thor returns to Grundarfjörður one day, for another chance to spot the orcas. (On the right: Riding the newly built orca statue!)