"Thar Be Whales!" Day 3 (13 photos)
Deb had booked us a whale watch cruise with Chris' Whale Watching, from the dock near downtown Monterey. We certainly got our money's worth, and more! We left at 10 am and were back around 12:45 pm. We never went too far from shore, but we saw plenty of action. At one point, five whales were near the boat.
A plethora of seals, Monterey dock. See close up, below.
Snoozing seals, exhausted from their hunt for food. A pod will follow the whales, and dive with them. As the whales begin to surface, they come up ahead. When a large amount of sea lion (seals) activity begins on the surface, the whale is not far behind.
Our whale watch boat, the good ship "Caroline." We sat in the stern. It was very chilly and cloudy when we left at 10 am (photo taken upon our return). We sat in a sheltered corner,
quite snug.
On whale watch, on the stern of the Caroline.
Just after leaving the dock we encountered this group of scary looking critters. However, they are Rissos Dolphins. We also saw dolphins later on in the distance cresting the waves.
Whales tend to be rather large...
"Thar she blows!"
Twins!
They were very close to our boat. While in the proximity of the whales, the captain
would shut down the engine and we would just drift. His sonar showed where the
whales were (frequently just beneath us). They would dive for about five minutes,
surface, blow, then dive again. Anchovies were on the menu for them today.
would shut down the engine and we would just drift. His sonar showed where the
whales were (frequently just beneath us). They would dive for about five minutes,
surface, blow, then dive again. Anchovies were on the menu for them today.
A rare sighting of four (or five?) humpbacks all at the surface together. Our boat was never very far from shore.
Spotted returning to harbour--is the Doctor living in Monterey?
We spent the evening on Monterey Beach and Dunes. It adjoins Pebble Beach, in the background.
To be continued....
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