LONG WEEKEND GETAWAY
Mediterranean Madrid
Cabo De Palos-Islas Hormigas and Isla Grosa make for a wonderful
diving experience and a perfect long weekend away from Madrid
MADRID
Text and images by MIKE KOCHALSKI
SPAIN
01 Cabo De Palos
harbour
01
WITH FANTASTIC ROCK FORMATIONS, ancient
and modern shipwrecks, clear waters and prolific
marine life, the waters around Cabo De Palos-Islas
Hormigas and Isla Grosa make for a wonderful
diving experience. This is all easily reachable from
Madrid for a perfect long weekend away.
La Manga, a small fishing port and one of
the prettiest on the entire coast, juts out into
the Mediterranean on the southernmost tip
of Cabo De Palos. Overlooking the harbour is
the lighthouse, first lit on January 31, 1865. The
marine reserve is a brilliant example of successful
sustainability with fantastic biodiversity and a
great ecological value. It also offers spectacular
diving. There are certain restrictions, however,
and some sites require advanced diving levels.
Providing you plan ahead with the necessary
paperwork – insurance, qualifications and a diving
medical are compulsory – the dive operations can
ensure your long weekend is one to remember.
SDOP
14
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Itinerary
FRIDAY
Excellent motorways take you
all the way to La Manga and
Cabo De Palos in just over four
hours, in time for a light lunch.
After checking in, head to the
easily accessible small bays of
Cala Fria and Cala Muerte for
a great warm-up shore dive or
snorkel. Here you will see lots
of small reef fish amongst the
rocky gullies and caverns and
large expanses of seagrass.
If you are not diving today,
a short 30-minute drive to
Cartagena brings you to
the recently rediscovered
and renovated Roman
amphitheatre. The area around
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