Sushma Reddy’s Travel blog: Big Sur – Monterey Bay

We started off innocuously enough, skimming among schools of giant jellyfish, and everyone took turns “Whale Spotting”. On a Whale cruise, Read More">you need to keep your eyes peeled constantly on the horizon in search of the trademark Humpback spout or the Blue whale’s more powerful and taller spout. We saw whales jettison out of theRead More

We started off innocuously enough, skimming among schools of giant jellyfish, and everyone took turns "Whale Spotting". On a Whale cruise, you need to keep your eyes peeled constantly on the horizon in search of the trademark Humpback spout or the Blue whale's more powerful and taller spout. We saw whales jettison out of the water in the furthest distance and crash land on their sides, a practice called breaching that scientists haven't understood fully.

We kept seeing the odd Humpback in the near distance, since you are not allowed to go close to the animals and disturb them. They would show us their distinct flukes, and fill the waters with their red poop, composed of digested plankton.

I was in seventh heaven: on my birthday, I had been granted a special treat-to see these fantastic mammals up close, and in playful mode! The boat stayed put, Read More">while the three maverick whales kept spraying us with their smelly spouts and plankton breath! (The law doesn’t let you move the boat until the whalesRead More

I was in seventh heaven: on my birthday, I had been granted a special treat-to see these fantastic mammals up close, and in playful mode! The boat stayed put, while the three maverick whales kept spraying us with their smelly spouts and plankton breath! (The law doesn't let you move the boat until the whales are out of harms way)

It was at least another hour before we headed back. Everyone was ravenously hungry but on a high to have witnessed this amazing and rare spectacle.

For me, it still lingers fresh in my memory: my special birthday when the whales came out to play!

We were about to head back, when one of the Humpbacks decided to come and check out our boat not just that, he decided to go below the boat and play!! For nearly 40 minutes, he kept playing, tapping the hull of the boat with his side fin, Read More">blowing water at us and turning ontoRead More

We were about to head back, when one of the Humpbacks decided to come and check out our boat not just that, he decided to go below the boat and play!! For nearly 40 minutes, he kept playing, tapping the hull of the boat with his side fin, blowing water at us and turning onto his side to open one eye to look at everyone! We couldn't believe it! This intelligent creature was taking it all in, and trying to create a rapport with the boat and its occupants! Soon, a friend came to join him, and we now had two of them under the boat! Within another ten minutes, a third one came to play!!

The deepest pleasures can be found in the most unexpected places. They require no planning, Read More">no expense and no thought! This was reiterated when I went to visit Big Sur and Monterey Bay on the Californian coast on my birthday in 2009. My plan was to go out to the bay on a Scientist supervisedRead More

The deepest pleasures can be found in the most unexpected places. They require no planning, no expense and no thought! This was reiterated when I went to visit Big Sur and Monterey Bay on the Californian coast on my birthday in 2009. My plan was to go out to the bay on a Scientist supervised excursion to see the legendary Humpback and the elusive Blue whales that abound in the summer waters of Monterey.