We walked into Monterey from our AirBnB home along the Del Monte Avenue. Up to the end of the II World War a very expensive and fashionable hotel stood along this road into Monterey.
The Del Monte was so posh it had its own railway station. You can still see the metal railway lines on the path. The Naval Post Graduate College has replaced the hotel and its golf course.
We marched on into Monterey. As you enter the town from Seaside on the path the council have created an attractive park adjacent to the beach. But then you hit a big car park with a bar on one side called the London Bridge Pub with a sign reminiscent of a tube station logo.
Crossing the car park you arrive at Fisherman’s Wharf, effectively a pier with restaurants and shops selling what I call tat. Fisherman’s Wharf has little connection with it’s implied trade and has turned into a tourist trap.
Despite the hustle from restaurant staff to sample their food we proceeded along the pier, because we wanted to book a whale watching trip. ChatGPT had recommended Monterey Bay Whale Watching Company. We popped into their cabin and we both liked the girl selling the tickets. We crossed over to another company and they charged more so we returned and bought two tickets for the afternoon trip.
Maggi’s reading Steinbeck’s Cannery Row so we had to visit it. When Steinbeck wrote the book the street stank of waste fish and was a noisy hubbub of manufacturing. Today Cannery Row can be divided into three sections, a classy set of shops and hotels, waste ground waiting for development and a touristy area full of moderately priced restaurants and souvenir shops.
We walked most of the length of the row to check out a recommended restaurant and we booked it for 5:30. We retraced our steps back towards Fisherman’s Wharf and our whale watching afternoon, eating our sandwiches in the shade on the way.
Our boat, the Black Fin, left the dock at 1:30 pm and initially Maggi and I sat at the rear, but the roar of the engine sent us inside. About 20 minutes into the trip we came across some Risso’s Dolphins, but I found it difficult to get a good shot of them on the phone.
The boat moved on and 40 minutes later we arrived where other whale watching boats had already stopped. From there on in we had a feast of active Humpback Whales breaching the surface performing all different tricks. The spectacle was awe inspiring.
There seemed to be so many whales all performing unbelievable stunts that I could try to capture on my phone without a lot of success. They flapped their fins on the surface and jumped out of the water. They did everything you’ve ever seen on a wild life program and in such abundance.
The on board naturalist couldn’t really explain why the whales indulge in this behaviour. She thought it might be following a good hearty meal they were expressing the joy for having a full stomach, or a form of communication.
Eventually we had to leave to return to Fisherman’s Wharf for 4:30 pm. On the return a couple sat down on our bench and insisted that we visit the Monterey Acquarium.
We walked back to The Fish Hopper Restaurant on Cannery Row and had an OK meal in a cold section of the dining area. An Uber Home and finally sat down to relax.