Unexpected Dip
Monterey Bay, California
Adventure #6: Kayaking and Yoga in Monterey (Multi-Activity Day)
Intention: Better understand the complexity of marine life in our oceans. Be respectful of the living world underneath the surface.
This adventure took place on stolen Rumsen and Ohlone land.
We started our Central Coast camping trip with a multi-activity day in Monterey. We started with a very special experience, kayaking one of the world's largest open water conservation areas. This site is famous for its unique wildlife and has been inspiration for films such as, Finding Dory (lets go) and countless environmental documentaries. I'd only ever seen it from a distance, so to be out on the water was something special. I liked how much the company that we rented from emphasized the importance of marine conservation. As a climate activist, it's reassuring to hear about large organizations, including the Coast Guard, that are protecting individual animals, migrating groups and the general biodiversity in this area.
I took a double kayak with Domi and we suited up with our trusty wetsuits. The water was pretty calm. I've only ever kayaked on a lake, so it was really fun to be on the open ocean and get to feel the waves underneath the boat. Soon after we departed from the beach we started paddling through large patches of jellyfish. This is kind of unnerving at first. Every time I go in the ocean, I am reminded of its vastness and its power. I absolutely love feeling utterly overwhelmed by the grandeur of the sea. This great force holds so much mystery. It is fascinating to spend time out of our natural habitat, and a humble reminder of the respect needed for the biomes outside our own. After the jellyfish, we started to see some sea lions (well we heard them first) and sea otters from a distance! The Monterey Bay keeps otters very protected so we remained a safe distance away as to not disrupt them. If otters are interrupted by human contact they have to dive deep and expend much needed energy for hunting. This has been a threat to their populations, desperately trying to recover from the otter fur trade. I've only ever seen otters and other animals in zoos and Aquariums, so to leisurely paddle past them was incredible. We also got a peek at the kelp forest below surface. My Octopus Teacher on Netflix released this year, is all about the value of kelp forests. I highly recommend. It's about a man who creates a relationship with an octopus in a kelp forest in South Africa. He dove down in the forest every day for the better part of a year and documents the life of an octopus, who begins to create a bond with him. The diver tries his best in not interfere with the octopus’ natural life while he observes her. It is an incredible story about the intelligence of other creatures and the importance of keeping biodiverse kelp forest alive. Paddling over them reminded me of all creatures that I cannot see underneath the surface. Humans have done so much damage to the lives of fauna and flora, so to imagine that some of it can remain protected, untouched and even unseen by us is reassuring. There are some things that we maybe don't deserve to see, and that's okay.
Kiera and Jocelyn
Coming in, Domi and I shared a wipeout trying to ride a wave in. I was in the front of the kayak and while catching the wave in, I could see the tip of the kayak go deeper and deeper into the wave. At that moment I knew we were going to go in… phones and all. So we tumbled into the water and stood upright as another wave came over us. I laid on the sand and watched the kayak wash over my head and I held it from crashing down on me. I felt enough in control to not be scared (and we were close to the shore) but man, did we feel silly, and incredibly soaked. Somehow both of our phones survived and we laughed it off on the beach. We then proceeded to see every single person come, smooth as butter, no issues, and felt even more ridiculous. It will always be a fond memory to look back on.
If you're ever in Monterey (and know how to successfully bring in a kayak), I would highly suggest this adventure. It is a great way to see a very special body of water and Monterey from a different perspective.
Post Wipeout Rush
Once back on land, we needed another activity to fulfill our multi-activity challenge, so we headed to anther sun soaked spot. My favorite spot in Monterey, Lover’s Point. This is a little stretch of land developed around a beautiful beach, with a grass patch that overlooks the ocean. There are beautiful Monterey Cyprus that shade the grass. A perfect location to find and locals swimming, playing water polo and surfing. I love the way it is incorporated in their everyday lives, a normal part of local routines. I could see people hoping down in their wetsuits to take a dip with their kids, and come back up to the grass patch for lunch. What a life! Since we had just been on the ocean, we decided to have our second activity on land. A little bit of stretching and yoga on the grass. I have wanted to become an instructor for a while, but it takes a lot of time and money, so I prefer to lead informal sessions with my friends. I instructed a little afternoon stretch for everyone and we enjoyed the warmth of the sun and smell of the ocean in each breath.
After our mindful yoga on the grass, we walked to local coffee shop, the Bookshop Cafe, then headed to Carmel. We walked around Carmel bit while Jocelyn stayed in the car for a job interview. We were certainly multi-taskers this day, but I’ll say Jocelyn took the cake on this one. Both activities and a job offer. Not bad! After walking around the streets of Carmel and taking in the beautiful Spanish architecture, we went back to our campsite at Saddle Mountain Ranch so that we could make dinner early enough that it didn't get too chilly.
This day was super fun and a really nice introduction to our camping trip. It also gave us extra time in Monterey, a place I could absolutely see myself living in someday. I admire it’s apparent values in ecological conservation, outdoor activities and low key lifestyle. So glad we we ended up down here this week.
