Sunday, July 23, 2017

Sunday, July 23, 2017

close encounter with Moby

Posted by Hippobean at 11:01 PM
It spouted and then suddenly came towards our boat in such rapid speed that caught us all off guard. its knobbly head emerged (hello) and doved in again into the salty waters off Moss Landing beach. The Hippo's never seen the head of a humpback live before. And as if to bid us a farewell, it showed off its tail, big and black, right before our eyes, and dove under our boat. The Hippo was stunned with disbelief and even had tears of awe in her eyes. We just couldnt believe our close encounter with Moby. her first whale watching expedition and rookie's luck prevailed. A woman, sat at the tip of the bow, recorded the whole encounter. her bucketlist to see a whale, but never imagined it would be such a close-up encounter. The rest of the whale sightings paled in comparison and from now on, any distant sights of whales or even closer ones would mean nothing. It was Moby, my first, and will always forever and ever just be Moby. (alright, so it wasnt a great white, but the Hippo can still call it Moby!)

For grand finale, the Sooty Shearwaters, migrated from New Zealand, swarmed the Monterey Bay, providing a backdrop as humpbacks swam and played beneath them in the ocean. What a sight! And what a day with whales all around us and birds from half way across the globe to complement our whales watching.

The close encounter with Moby was almost as freaking awesome as the close encounter with the Canadian Moose bull in Jasper. After a disappointing Moose Hunt at Moose Lake, we were driving back to our cabin when suddenly, this male Moose crossed the highway right in front of our car. He's massive, super tall, and with ginormous antlers. The Hippo was petrified on the spot and all she could do was to watch the Moose gently and slowly crossed the highway and disappeared into the flora.


On the Monterey Bay, off the Moss Landing beach (all photos by A. O'Racca):

monterey bad
  Humpback tail

bar harbor

bar harbor

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  Spouting

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  Sooty Shearwaters migration
  from New Zealand

bar harbor
  Shearwaters swarm over
  humpbacks

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  Elephant seals on
  Moss Landing harbor

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  Tomaso & Hippo
  onboard the Sea Goddess

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