Gibraltar
A weeks leave to go diving and somewhere warm but different was required. Add to that a desire to keep the cost relatively low, the ideal came clear, Gibraltar.
it’s a place I have visited many times for many different reasons and I’ve always wanted to dive there so it was an ideal location.
Using the ‘My Gibraltar’ site it was quick and easy to organise a hotel and flight package, and relatively cheap. We were booked on EasyJet and into a small local hotel called the Bristol. The hotel was exactly right and had everything required for a comfortable stay, it was ideally situated about 15 minutes walk from the dive centre and two minutes from the main shopping/food area.
We arrived at ‘Dive Charters’ the only dive centre in Gibraltar two hours after landing. It is set in a plush set of restaurants and opposite a floating casino. It’s a small shop but full of kit and well organised. Forms filled out we loaded our kit in the trolley and headed to the minibus as we needed transit to the dive site. They have two entry points and most dives take place from these as the wrecks form the longest man made reef in the Mediterranean.
Our first dive site is Rosia Bay, a small bay on the South West coast. It is entered off a harbour edge and proves to be full of life. We only get to about 10 meters in depth but five free swimming octopus, huge spider crabs and plenty of fish make me think that there may be better to come. We head back to the hotel and prepare for a second days diving and some wrecks.
Heading to the dive centre for our second day we are driven to the second entry point for their dives, this is Camp Bay, which is a small beach next to a cafe and beach complex. The dive is amazing, it’s one of the barges. We swim out to the barge over sand and gravel littered with marine life. At 18 m the barge is full of fish and several more octopus, all too soon we are returning to shore and taking in the scenery when 12/14 tuna come hurtling past. what an end to the dive.
On the surface again we notice that there is something wrong, several small boast are moving up and down the bay pulling sponge booms behind them. It turns out we have luckily exited just as an oil spill is coming in towards the bay. Later that day we hear that a ship has been impounded and the Captain has been arrested. That doesn’t help us as it means we will get no more diving in that week.
The rest of the week we spend doing the tourist bit, visiting the town, the rock and going up the rock on the cable cars.
A great weeks break and I will need to come back to finish off the dives.
