AD 2017 Q4

COCONUT OCTOPUS, BALI, INDONESIA
Black-sand muck sites often look like wastelands at first. Such
was the case at PJ’s in Bali. I began conducting a search pattern
over the bottom, wondering where all the critters were. The
only thing that broke the monotony of the bottom was a coconut
shell. With nothing else to distract me, I poked it with muck stick
to see if anything was underneath. Nothing. But as I rolled it,
I suddenly realized that one of the “eyes” of the coconut was
looking back at me. I backed off and waited. Finally, a suctioncupped
arm slithered out of a crack in the coconut, followed by
a gelatinous procession of additional octopus parts squeezing
through the small opening. Eventually all eight legs unfurled and
raised this mobile home off the seafloor on tentacle toes that
danced lightly across the sand in hasty retreat. I had found the
legendary coconut octopus (Amphioctopus marginatus) in its
namesake home.
CROCODILE, JARDINES DE LA REINA, CUBA
The opening of Cuba to American tourism has certainly been a
boon to fans of Caribbean diving. And Cuba offers some amazing
treasures beneath the surface that you won’t find elsewhere in
the Caribbean. One of the most exciting opportunities for me
was the chance to photograph saltwater crocodiles (Crocodylus
porosus) in the wild. I have had some modest and limited
encounters in the Western Pacific, but I was completely taken
aback by these relaxed and approachable reptiles in the shallow
crystalline waters of southern Cuba. My nerves were quickly
calmed by their behavior, and curiosity soon took over. This is
perhaps the best opportunity anywhere in the tropical Atlantic for
this rare interaction, and it’s well worth the short trip to Cuba.
PURA ISLAND, INDONESIA
I find Indonesia’s young freedivers completely enchanting. From
the time they are old enough to walk, they are swimming, diving
and holding their breath — and they clearly love it. During any
dive we did near their village, the kids would run and paddle out
with handmade goggles in hand and dive down to play with us.
Their expressions, competition and poses reflected their great
comfort in an aquatic environment and a level of joy rarely seen
in this day and age.
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