Whales, jellyfish and Cannery Row

Although it had been raining all night, the morning was clear and dry and the wind had dropped. We knew that we could find boats doing whale watching trips at a place called Fisherman’s Wharf in Monterey so turned up at 9am to see what the story was. Fisherman’s Wharf looked like a film set to us – a pier of clapboard buildings selling kitsch Monterey souvenirs, restaurants selling steak and lobster and stands serving clam chowder in edible bowls made out of loaves of sour dough bread. We bought boat tickets to watch whales at an office and were chatting to the proprietor about the trip when there was a phone call. We had been pleased that the day seemed calm and ideal for whale watching, but apparently, the wind had picked up out to sea and all trips would be cancelled. We were refunded our money and went off to the famous Monterey aquarium instead feeling a bit disappointed. Whale-watching was one of the best things we did in Argentina and we are keen to do it again – perhaps further south in Santa Barbara.

Later we realized that if we had gone whale watching, we wouldn’t have had time for the aquarium and it really is as good as people say it is. We spent a good two hours there. Our favourite things were the jelly fish displays, the otters and the kelp. Lots of really interesting plants and animals to see, lots to touch and even some movies – we caught one about sharks. Awesome place. We also wandered round the incredibly commercial Cannery Row. The original cannery buildings have become restaurants, cafes, shops, hotels, antique arcades and galleries. This is all next to the seafront and very pretty.

After a Mexican lunch overlooking beautiful Monterey Bay and a walk around the gardens, we motored South down Freeway 101 direction San Luis Obispo where we had arranged to meet our friends Amy and George.

Whale watching in Monterey: http://www.montereybaywhalewatch.com/
The aquarium: http://www.mbayaq.org/