Getting to know the locals

Quick blip. before bed... select, crop, boost colour and blip. Not sure that this is the best one from the day, but I'm too tired to play.

Had an AMAZING day. Was up at plain stupid o' clock to collect a hire-car, or rather hire-SUV for the day. I drove for two hours south and was in Monterey by 7am kitting up for my first cold-water dive. I donned a 6.5ml two-piece wetsuit, hood and the whole kaboodle, a steel tank and a heck of a lot of weight to keep me under. It was not an attractive look I can tell you. It was soooo different to what I was used to in Saudi. Brrrrrrr! Not cold, but "brisk and refreshing", the words of Keith, my dive guide. He also said that I've now done 'real' diving, based on the formula that four warm-water dives equals one cold-water one!

The dive itself was interesting. Zillions, and I mean zillions of star-fish (an occasional sight in Jeddah) and swathes of kelp forest. It was like a jungle under there, It took a while to acclimatise but I soon was able to concentrate on enjoying the experience rather than dealing with the cold! Really glad that I made the effort to go.

Monterey Bay itself in terms of scenery was stunning. I took a trip into town to visit the aquarium, (highly recommended for a day out. Big kids too) which was surrounded by the usual tourist tat shops. I was glad to have ventured into the real town beforehand though, where the locals hang out, because I found a gem of a cafe, where I had a hearty breakfast of steaming coffee and over-easy eggs and crispy bacon. Yum!

My blip though, which is after all what I'm writing about, was at Breakwater Pier, on the edge of town (where I went diving). Sea-lions and otters squawked their hearts out as they basked in the sun and played in the water. SUCH a great sight - I stood there for ages, watching them all. This one was a bit of a poser!