SCUBA DIVING | BELOW THE PEARL OF THE ATLANTIC
If you knock on a stone just outside of
Esmeralda’ s home, she’ ll always pop out her head to see who’ s there” says Sittika Nasufow, who runs the Manta Diving Centre with her partner, Stefan Maier. Sittika isn’ t talking about a little old lady who lives on her own; but a huge blue eyed 1.3 metre long brown Moray eel, which has lived in the same hole in one of the diving areas in the underwater nature reserve for 30 years.
Madeira is an excellent place to dive as warm ridges of the Gulf Stream allow the water temperature to wallow between 18 degrees to 24 degrees all year round.“ One of the good things about diving here is that there are no thermalclines” says Sittika.
This means that there is no drop in temperature from the top of the water to 34 metres down, which is an important consideration when diving.
With both Atlantic and Gulf Stream influences, there is a wide variety of sea life, almost as good as that in tropical waters. Many exotic, brightly coloured fish can be seen from parrot fish to puffer fish, red hogfish to blue fine damsel fish, as well as many massive fish such as giant groupers, barracudas and rays and more delicate species like the orange, yellow and brown seahorses or colourful prawns. And if you are lucky, you’ ll be able see Manta Rays or even a Monk Seal.
Pictures courtesy of Pedro Vasconcelos | www. madeira-life. net | Summer 2012 | 11