After my stint in San Francisco I headed inland for a bit of a family catch up to see my cousin and her family, as well as to do a bit more exploring, in some lesser know places. My first stop along the way was to go whale watching in Monterey.

We went out with Monterey Bay Whale Watch on a trip which lasted around 4 hours. Fun fact, these were the group who took out Big Blue Live last year. The great thing about these guys is that they are marine biologists so they actually know what they are talking about, and what to look out for. The boat was pretty big, it held about 120 people, but they have a speaker system so that you don’t miss any of the information they give you, which can include sightings, species and geographical information. This is particularly helpful when they can tell you that a whale has been spotted, cue me speed walking to the front of the boat.

The crew on the boat were really helpful, walking around making sure that everyone was alright throughout the trip. A special shout out to my cousin who powered through the freezing temperatures with horrible seasickness, she was the real MVP! I would definitely recommend layering up, I had one four layers, and could have honestly done with four more, it was freezing out there. Also take some sea sickness tablets, it’s better safe than sorry. My cousin took them and was still really sick, so I dread to think what she would have been like if she didn’t.

The trip took us out over the Monterey Canyon which is a submarine canyon big enough to rival the Grand Canyon, therefore making it abundant in marine life. We were really lucky on out trip, we saw a Sealions, Dolphins, Mola Mola (Ocean Sunfish), Humpbacks, Orca’s and most spectacularly of all a Blue Whale. Sadly I was stood on the wrong side of the boat when the Humpbacks surfaced, and there was no breaching by any of the whales (of course with my luck there was later in the day) but it was still an amazing day. Being able to say that I have seen a Blue Whale is something that I never even dreamed off, and is definitely something I will treasure forever. Here are some of my photo’s from the trip. Enjoy!