Day 15: Monterey Bay

We were rudely awaken by the alarm this morning which was a shock to all of our systems. We needed an early start to get to our 9.30am whale watching cruise and again, the early morning mist meant it was a chilly day. We wrapped up well in lots of layers and set off for Moss Landing Marina, a 20 minute drive from our condo.

We checked in and were greeted with coffee and donuts which was a nice touch and very much appreciated before boarding ‘The Sea Goddess’ with nearly 100 other passengers. The passageway out of the marina to the sea was very calm with lots of sea lions and seals playing on the rocks and a wealth of different seabirds around.

Unfortunately the calm sea didn’t last long and once we were out in Monterey Bay a cold wind blew and the sea was choppy with some very big waves which did nothing to settle our stomachs!

Throughout the trip we were lucky enough to see easily in excess of 20 humpback whales and 100’s of sea lions all feeding from the depths of the Monterey Canyon, an underwater area of the bay that is big enough, and deep enough, to fit the entire Grand Canyon inside it with room to spare!

It really was quite awe inspiring to see the majestic beauty of these enormous creatures up close and to see them moving with such grace as they continually surfaced and then dove down to the depths to feed. As they surfaced, sea lions and sea birds frantically feasted on what was brought to the surface as they broke the water and expelled air from their blowholes, which I have to say was quite foul smelling!

As amazing as seeing the whales was, the 3 girls struggled with the waves and felt quite poorly for the last hour or so which was a shame and slightly took the sheen off what was an amazing experience for them.

After recovering over lunch at home, we set off in the afternoon to visit the town of Monterey. We visited the popular area of Old Fisherman’s Wharf and spent some time looking at the shops and wildlife over an ice cream.

We spent our last evening in Watsonville once again enjoying the amazing sunset over a few drinks and an amazing fresh fish supper. Tomorrow we get back on the Pacific Coast Highway for the 100 odd miles left to San Francisco!