I am not sure if I ever told you but I always wanted to be a marine biologist. I was more than slightly disappointed when I discovered that my Biology studies were strongly focused on Molecular Biology, the avant garde of this day and age, where the discoveries are being made. Even subjects like Systematics or Zoology were studied under a molecular biology approach, which meant we studied phylogenetics, not the classic 1800-century biology of my romantic high-school dreams.
I even have a whale's tail tattoo around my right ankle, as a promise to myself that I would never forget those dreams or fall victim of the system (Oh innocent youth). Anyhow, I had been wanting to visit the Monterey Bay Aquarium since forever. It is one of the largest aquariums in the world (the aquariums in Atlanta, Georgia and Okinawa are also on my list).
After watching the hilarious cup-stacking sea otters, we made sure to visit them and be there to witness the feeding session. There were also countless jellyfish. So beautiful. And mesmerizing. You could just stand there and watch them dance for hours. And there were penguins and giant bright pink starfish. And rays. And the prettiest tiny marine birds.
On our way back to San Francisco we passed Santa Cruz, famous for the Giant Dipper, one of the oldest rollercoasters in the world, built in 1924, located at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, an amusement park. We also wanted to see the lighthouse at Pigeon Point, "built in 1871 to guide ships on the Pacific coast of California. It is the tallest lighthouse (tied with Point Arena Light) on the West Coast of the United States." Oh and we tried salt water taffy, for the first time in our lives (I kept reading about these candies, referenced in literature or mentioned in songs).
The first time I saw jellyfish at an aquarium I was absolutely stunned at how beautiful they were. Who would have expected that a swarm of transparent floaty things could be so stunning?
ReplyDeleteYes, they are absolutely stunning, for transparent floaty things.
DeleteI also find their biology fascinating, how they hatch as hydrae, how they are related to polyps that just start budding and letting go of tiny jellyfish, and their complex defense mechanism (yes, they sting, but those cells are perfectly engineered to react against perceived aggressors).
If you love jellyfish you both definitely need to add Palau to your travel list! Palau has Jellyfish Lake, which you guessed it, its a lake full of jellies. The amazing thing is that they don't sting, like at all! So you can swim with them and touch them and just be surrounded by a million of them!
DeleteHere are a couple of links I think you'll like!
http://www.hotelclub.com/blog/the-incredible-jellyfish-lake/
http://vimeo.com/23079092
OMG this is so amazing, this place is totally added to our life-list, I want to swim with non-toxic jellyfish!
Delete(I think toxic is the wrong term...but I can't come up with the right one now...)
Oh wauw de foto's zijn geweldig! En ja je hebt wel eens verteld dat je graag marine biology wilde studeren, over de tattoo had je echter nog niet verteld. Zo leuk die kleine persoonlijke details! Het moet echt een geweldige reis zijn geweest!
ReplyDeletexx
liquoriceandpumps.blogspot.com
Dank je wel :)
DeleteIk denk dat ik had nooit over mijn tattoo geschreven. Het was echt super leuk. We willen nog en keer daar naartoe. (Maar er zijn zoveel plaatsen om te zien, ook in andere landen).
Ohhh! What did you think of the taffy??? I loooove it, definitely one of my favorite candies of all time!
ReplyDeleteThat penguin picture is AMAZING!
I liked the taffy, how soft and sweet it is, how it melts in your mouth. And they have so many different flavors. Mark didn't like it quite so much, I think he expected it to be harder.
DeleteI was really happy with the penguin picture :) Most of all I was glad the penguin waited long enough and stayed still for me to be able to take it!
Can you believe I've never been to an aquarium? Yes, I know. I definitely need to go. *putting it on my list*
ReplyDeleteDid you like Santa Cruz? For some reason it was always a day trip for my family when I was a kid and visiting San Francisco and it was always really special. I remember walking on the pier with giant pieces of sourdough bread and butter and checking out the sea lions and wishing I could grow up and go to college at UC Santa Cruz. Ha.
You have to go to an aquarium, absolutely, urgently, soon! (Of course I am not biased at all).
DeleteI liked Santa Cruz, it really had that charm you mention, but we didn't see sea-lions from there :( The truth is, parking was awfully expensive over there and we were a bit tired (after visiting Carmel and Monterey the same day) so we kind of just drove around, got some groceries at a Walgreens :) I think cereal boxes and milk, and then continued to Pigeon Point.
I dreamt of going to University somwhere in California, maybe near San Diego, or of working at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.