Whale Watching in Mendocino
Here's some of the ocean spray kicked up by our craft as we powered our way out into the Pacific.
It was quite fun waiting on deck, poised with our cameras and trying to anticipate when one of the whales would go down into a dive and flip up its tail. After awhile I noticed that we were watching the same group of whales surface and dive repeatedly, because they could be distinguished from one another according to the markings on their tails.
Although the whales look rather small in relationship to the vast expanse of water in which they live, seeing one of their tails in relationship to a boat on the very near horizon serves as a reminder as to just how large these mammals actually are!
The whales would often dive in pairs. This was a common site - one whale completing its dive while another one (the gray blob on the left!) was getting ready to dive as well.
Back on land, my efforts to photograph the seals lounging on the docks met with mixed reviews...
This individual clearly did not take kindly the invasion of his (her?) nap-time sanctuary,
but this handsome specimen seemed to actually be posing for the camera, and presented me with a variety of engaging profile shots. ( I could be wrong about this - such behavior might actually be the visual equivalent of saying "go away, you stupid tourist, before I get REALLY mad...)
And, just in case anyone has been dying to do an in-depth study of the back end of one of these sea-loving mammals...I found it rather interesting how small the back flippers are in relaionship to the rest of their bodies.
All in all, the whale watch was a tremendously fun and highly recommended experience, either with or without a camera for a partner. But, really, what does one do if they don't have a camera - ???????!!!!!!!