Kauai anew!: It took a while

Upon arriving at the beach, there was a seal frolicking about. Going from the deep side to the shallow side and back and forth. Don't they know I try to give them space and stay out of their way?! But they have to choose which side they want. HA. Just kidding. After all, it is their home and I am just an alien visiting.

I would not object if they stopped eating octopus, however! My pal who is a seal volunteer said she thinks they eat further out in the deeper water. All good for me and my crew of he'e!

It took over an hour and a half of swimming before I saw the first octopus.

Recognize the rocks from yesterday? That is actually the first thing I saw, then looked for the octopus. It was still reluctant to show itself, sliding back into its den as I approached.

I had checked this den for this "regular" octopus a few times in today's swim, but when I was about ready to get out, I saw a small trevally circling this den, so I figured the octopus had finally come home. And it had. You have to look really closely, but the siphon is on the left, just above the red rock. And the eye above and to the right of that. Yes, I know it's not ideal. But I am happy with whatever I can get!

As you know, I am a huge octopus fan, and really enjoy seeing them as they hide or dance or hunt. The two today just mostly hid, but I was happy to count them among the animals I saw.

Like seals!

This male finally decided it was ok to slip ashore. Note rainbow in the background.

They do look on shore to see if danger lurks. And other than sharks, which I have thankfully never seen here, humans are their next worst enemy. Curiosity and lack of respect rank high in the human attitude. To be fair, some of the humans have not been informed about the 25 foot distance of safety, so they let their curiosity win out.

Luckily, the seal volunteers were there and taking care of business. It was roped off as soon as it settled.

I will show you my tummy, too!

Cavorting

Waving to whom?

This photo is mainly to show the pretty sunrise and rain offshore.

But also the two honu asleep on the beach.

Three small trevally searching maybe for breakfast.

Ambon Puffer showing its stripes. And a bit of light on its face.

These urchins are so weighed down by shells and other stuff! This one was clinging to the rock, defying gravity.

And the Pinktail Durgon was close-in again. Happy to see that. At first I thought its dorsal fin had been bitten, but I think it was just lying down a bit..

Nice clouds and light on the way to the car.

A Cone shell hiding, protected by an urchin.

And a Drupe shell. Most of the ones I see here are small. I do know they can get much bigger. Not Cowry size, but a good weighty handful. Maybe 2 inches from top to tail.

Lizard Fish. This one let me take several photos, but then it zoomed off about 2 feet away.

Male Box or Trunk Fish. Very few spots on its underside.

I have read that they can emit a toxic solution if disturbed.

Pencil Urchins in between two rocks. So pretty.

And pink coral with an urchin guard....

Pinktail Durgon again

Rainbows figured prominently today. It rained on me just a little bit, but no thunder or lightning, thank God!

I normally don't put other people in my blog posts, but this guy only showed his back. Note the seal asleep on the beach, in addition to the rainbow.

This rainbow landed on a surfer, far out. I do wonder if he feels the light? Not sure how that works.

This complete shell was stuffed in the sand, so I picked it up, thinking it was a complete shell with animal inside. Not so! When I put it back down, it fell into two pieces with nothing in between. So it came home with me.

I blame this Snowflake moray for the octopus lacking in this area. There was one yesterday, but it was a darker eel threatening it two doors down then. So who knows? The octopus might just be out for a snack/hunt.

A Spanish Dancer nudibranch. At least I think so. It wasn't the usual red color, but it was hiding underneath a rocky overhang, so hard to see its true colors without the light.