Scuba Diver Ocean Planet Issue 06/2016 | Page 18

LONG WEEKEND GETAWAY the ancient town is ringed by fortresses, lookout towers and battlements, so don’t forget your camera. The only serious decision for the evening is which fabulous restaurant back in Cabo De Palos to go for. SATURDAY A great first dive is Bajo De La Testa, a huge rocky plateau surrounded by meadowlike green and red seagrass (Posidonia oceanica and coralline algae) a 20-minute boat ride away. At 24 metres encounter seabream, jacks, barracuda and very large and inquisitive dusky groupers, along with smaller reef fish and morays in the rocky crevasses. In the beautiful clear water there may be larger fish out in the blue. A 30-minute boat ride takes you to an ideal second dive at Bajo De Dentro with large rocky pinnacles emerging from the 50-metre bottom. Circle the spire at 20 metres for the best view and to explore the steep rocky gullies, checking out morays and octopuses in the cracks. î Now it’s time for a perfectly Spanish late lunch while you decide what to do next: snorkelling, sunbathing, strolling around the pretty town or perhaps a visit to the lighthouse. Of course, really keen divers will be planning a night dive in one of the pretty shallow bays. SUNDAY There are endless possibilities. Take a short boat ride from Port Tomas Maestre to the La Laja reef wrecks. Dated approximately 600BC, a Phoenician trading ship lies î SDOP 16 04