An Excursion to Santa Cruz Island, CA
This was our second trip out to the Channel Islands. We went to Santa Cruz Island, the largest of the Channel Islands. Island Packers runs tours of the islands. Our trip from the dock at Ventura took about 90 minutes. We paused to watch a young humpback whale playing in the water. It rolled and did some tail slaps. It was exciting. There were dozens of dolphins around the boat. The boat docked at Prisoners Harbor on Santa Cruz Island. The island is huge! It is 24 miles long and has high mountainous ridge running the length. Our tour departed immediately for a long at the Painted Cavern. Along the way, we saw harbor seals and rock arches carved by the ocean waves. The Cavern is the 4th largest sea cave in the world. It was impressive! The boat pulled its entire length into the cavern. The cavern narrows quickly, so only kayaks can proceed much further. We arrived at the Harbor around 12:30 PM. There is a hike from the Harbor to Pelican Bay. This was listed as strenuo
