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Calabria's Diving Sites
For all those who love the world of diving or who would
like to get to know it, Calabria offers one of the best
diving areas in the Italian Mediterranean. This is mainly
due to the geological characteristics typical of the
diving areas south of Tropea. These regions offer conditions
that can be found hardly anywhere else in the Mediterranean.
Many of the rocky reefs and the underwater peaks around
Capo Vaticano
hide such a variety of life that we are reminded of
the Mediterranean's nature of bygone times. Of special
interest is the octopus nursery at Vador and the richness
of primitive life and crustaceans at Formicoli.
The temperatures are very pleasant all year round, even
in October.
Right off the Cape one of the most beautiful diving
areas is waiting for you: Mantineo.
It is here that you find a rock covered in rich vegetation
with overhangs and lots of little caves. One of these
is a 4 cubic metre hollow with stalactites which you
can dive into. As well as the large number of scorpion
fish you see in this natural aquarium, you are also
guaranteed to see octopuses, dusky groupers and moray
eels. Sometimes you can even see flounder in the surrounding
sandy sea-beds.
A very special place has been created by one of the
volcanoes in the surrounding area. If you hit the sand
here little bubbles will rise and you can see black
sand. Stromboli says hello!
With boat rides of between ten and thirty minutes you
will reach many more impressive diving areas. Off the
Bay of Santa Maria is the Scoglio della Galea which
is a reef covered in colourful red sponges. Because
of the currents which are often strong in this area
the water is always very clear. Visibility in the whole
area in normal water is mostly about 30 metres; we can
thank the depth of the sea-bed for this.
Please note:
All big diving schools stipulate that you
must have at least one day between the
last dive and your flight home so that the
nitrogen that builds up in your blood
while scuba-diving has time to dissipate
completely. In this way you avoid any
dangers to your health.
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