Wind too strong, waves too big, what to do?
The wind was blowing strongly from the north, the swell was at about 1.5 meters and the whole western side of Lanzarote was a mess. So we decided to go to the eastern side of the island to find a calmer spot. Playa la Garita was packed with surfers, but the waves were pretty small and breaking close to shore. Punta Mujeres and Jameos del Agua looked nice and surfable, but we had different plans. We went on north and found a beautiful small bay sheltered from the wind and the waves. After some adventures with the kids I took my snorkeling gear and went into the water. Visibility was great and right from the beginning there was a lot to see. Goldsponges and sea cucumbers, lots of little fish and a what’s that!?
There was an octopus next to a gurnard, and he was out in the open, in plain sight, not hidden at all!
Ever since I was snorkeling encountering octopuses has always been a highlight, but for the last couple of years I was quite unlucky in finding them. And here he was, nearly waving his arms at me. I dove down, and he hid a bit between two rocks. But just as I was at the suface again, he came out, swam around and did some colour tricks. For around fifteen minutes I was able to again and again dive down to him, film him, offer him anew stone (which he always indected right away). Sometimes octopus try to grab the camera or put an arm around your hand or so, but this guy was not the touchy type. Right when I started to get too cold it seems he also had enough and swam some meters away. So I waved good bye and swam back ashore.