We relaxed around the Divi Flamingo resort today. We didn’t drive anywhere, do anything or really even move much! But we did take to the ocean for a brief snorkel of an hour or so.

We got into the water to see a couple of big permit fish, right off the dock! We hadn’t even finished putting on our fins when we saw them. After we’d followed them for a bit, we saw an octopus, and what a ride he took us on.

This movie is strictly octopus. Nothing else. The octopus is a strange creature, using all eight legs to move, but also a kind of jet propulsion. Scientists have recently determined that the octopus has no rhythm when moving, unlike most creatures who have a cadence, left, right, left or some such motion. The octopus moves by merely shortening and lengthening the muscles of one leg to push in the direction they want to move.

The jet propulsion is the alternative method that is the most interesting to see, though. They draw water into a cavity in the body, then push the water through a valve creating a jet stream. This movie contains several extended clips of the jet propulsion in motion.

Also note the chameleon like ability to quickly rotate color over its entire body.

The jaunty piece of music used in the video is a royalty free number called “Life of Riley” available for free download at Incompetech.com.