Dive Trip "Puente de la Mona" - Herradura

A dive in the area of the Punta de la Mona is starting from the point of anchorage in the bay of Marina del Este. You can go diving, or even swimming at the surface until you are close to the point. In this case the descent you start is closer to the target and you can descend faster, following the profile of the cliff and optimizing your bottom time.

Following the relief of the cliff you will always encounter banks bream, salps, bogas, etc. There are plentiful nudibranchs (Hypselodoris picta). These snails are found individually and in groups of two, three and even four samples together. Protected from the lower current, you surpass the depth of 30 m and start to encounter the bunches of yellow coral or candelabra (Dendrophyllia ramea), which is the queen of the dentrofilia species and being spectacularly large. Some branches have a considerable size, reaching a meter in diameter. Branches, of calcareous consistency, are always bright orange; however, polyps can present two tones, white and yellow; in any case it is the same species.

You will dive in an area that is exposed to the lower current and find large species such as conger eels and moray eels (sometimes occupying the same crack), grouper, lobster, and beautiful banks of seaperch and the blue dentex, walleye, bream, and sunfish. Also highlight the large octopuses you can see and the garden of Cerianthus situated on the steep slope.

It is a deep div,e where you are often exposed to the lower current and do not have much visibility. This dive is not suitable if you are not properly qualified. It is certainly the star of all the dives and the most representative of the area.

Alternatively, if the sea conditions are not appropriate or some divers prefer not to descend to the coral garden, this dive can be done much more smoothly. Starting from the same anchorage, but as wall diving. In this dive dominate "Punta de la Mona (Wall / Cave of the Virgin)". You will descend along the anchor line and navigate with the wall to the right, gradually gaining depth. First there are large stone blocks with interesting overhangs, where you can see banks of three tails, cardinals, encrusting sponges, anemones and yellow Astroides. Hopefully you can find two interesting molluscs: the Chinese snail (umbraculum mediterraneum) and nudibranch Platydoris. Also abundant in these rocks are sponges Ircinia fasciculata with on its surface small snails roam and yellow blennies.

One of these stone blocks has a small hollow, like a passage that can be crossed with care. It is decorated with the figure of a Virgin of a meter high approx. (So it also called Stone or Cave of the Virgin). We continue down along the wall, enjoying the benthic life and still looking sideways at the blue, as we can see banks of salps, bogas and snappers, and hopefully also sunfish. Upon reaching the agreed height (25-30 m) or when the bottle is halfway or currents appear, you need to turn around and return by the route in reverse, in order to reach the funding. This dive profile has a low-medium difficulty and is suitable for all divers.