Off beaten track

A long, long overdue photo of the week. Octopi in Sri Lanka are generally quite skittish so I did a double take when I saw this octopus sitting serenely on a rock a few feet away from me at the Wall while diving in the Andamans. Getting closer to the fellow, I realized why it was so oblivious to me as I could see a cleaner wrasse diligently working it over. The octopus was so obviously enjoying himself that he didn't even budge the closer and closer I got. In the end I got bored first as with the feeding action on the other side of the rock, there was only so much time I was willing to devote to a tripped out octopus.

The now familiar outline of the Medhafaru wreck appeared out of the blue-green waters, the bridge tilted at a Pisa like angle with the glass still intact though black with algae. DJ moved off to the front of the wreck as I stayed at the back, my more conservative Suunto demanding that I remained relatively shallow for our second dive of the day. One of the regular denizens of the wreck, a greenish yellow moray, a species we still have not been able to identify, poked its head out a small structure on the deck. It stared out, clenching its jaws repeatedly, as all morays are prone to doing. This does give these eels quite a vicious look especially with their jagged teeth but apparently all this gulping is just to help circulate water over their gills. It�s still not advisable to go sticking any body parts you are fond of near a moray; in fact that�s a good general rule with pretty much any animal. Best to stay clear of those teeth Unfortunately I was experiencing some issues with my came...