We had the chance to show our barehanded Octopus snorkeling, in 2019, on a Chinese-Italian production, destined for some international channels, like youku.com.

In detail, the episode of the series called “Kiss Kiss” was about a Chinese girl named “Molly” who’s traveling in Italy and Sicily in particular, looking for adventurous experiences, while tasting local specialties and wines.

The episode is entirely shot in Sicily. The first part is about the Volcano Etna and a guided hike along some black sand paths. It is possible to enjoy some very nice drone footage and some old videos from past famous eruptions, like the one in 2001.

After an introduction to the Sicilian attractions and best pieces of coastline, the rest of the episode is about our specialty, our best snorkeling in Sicily, the Barehanded octopus Snorkeling! We took Molly on a classic itinerary of the octopus snorkeling with the boat. It was not visible, but on that boat, apart from the guide and the actress, there were six other people, including the camera crew, the director, and a mate.

Molly had some diving experience but she had never been in guided snorkeling. After a quick introduction briefing on how to use snorkel and fins, the snorkeling starts with looking for some colored sea urchins and wildlife. Andrea, as a guide, starts to give the guest some tips and instructions about spotting the house of the Octopus. Short research and the first octopus show up! The nice creature is hiding between some stones and sand; maintaining a wide view to control what goes around its house.

The Octopus starts to move, hiding in the best possible way, between sand and stones, including spraying its ink to trick the guide. Molly didn’t realize the size of the Octopus until it unveiled itself completely, changing colors and shapes, making its body as big as possible. This is one of the more classic strategies that the Octopus employs when it feels like there are no other options. It passes quickly from a completely camouflaged condition to an uncovered aspect, getting the maximum size possible to send its last message.

Andrea, who was slowly approaching the octopus, waiting for the best instant to grab it, also had to take time to wait for the scent to disappear, before localizing the cephalopod again and taking it up on the surface.

Molly, unexpectedly reacted, running away and literally jumping into the boat! Everyone, including the footage director invited her to go back in the water, but the answer was just “no, no, nooo, nooo!”. She decided she didn’t want to go back into the water, a bit scared by the octopus’s “reaction” on the bottom of the sea!

Once she understood there was nothing to be scared of, she even decided to get in contact with the strange creature. Some fast shooting followed and the Octopus was released back to his underwater world.

At the end of the special and intense day of shooting, Andrea took Molly for a dinner right on the water, at the edge of an old Tonnara, an old Tuna fishing establishment, now converted into a local village full of typical restaurants, Sicilian style bars, and shops. The episode ends up after a dinner of local seafood specialties of the Mediterranean Sea combined with tasting a selection of local wines sponsored by the co-producer “Ethica wines“.

Full Episode, including Etna’s footage.