Diving in Tossa (second dive)

Date of Dive:
June 1, 2023

Location of Dive:
Tossa de Mar, Spain

Noticeable Sightings
Spiny Lobster (Palinurus elephas)
Mediterranean Moray Eel (Muraena helena)

When exiting the water after our first dive in Tossa, the van of the diving centre was waiting for us with some new scuba tanks. We quickly took of our bcd’s and after a short break, we attached the new tanks and went back to the water.

As we had already seen a lot of the area, we could immediately swim past the beginning and head towards a spot where the dive guide knew there would probably be lobsters. We headed past another big rock formation and immediately I could feel that there was a slight current. As most of my dives have been near that bay in Barcelona, it was my first time experiencing a current albeit a weak one. Swimming through a crack in some of the rock formations we suddenly saw some antennae sticking out of the rock: lobsters! Two lobsters of approximately 25 cm each were wedged into a small crevasse wiggling their antennae around. They were not too skittish so I was able to get a good look at them.

Not far from where we spotted the first two lobsters, we swam about a meter below an overhanging rock. In this small cave we saw a third lobster and a massive one at that! It was pretty well hidden but it seemed to be about 35 cm long from head to tail (excluding the antennae). It was walking around its home and seemed not to pleased with our presence.

After our encounter with the massive lobster, we swam around some more and saw many more moray eels. Sadly, because it was our second dive of the day it was a relatively short dive. After our decompression time we headed back to the surface to conclude the final dive of my time in Barcelona.

 

Diving in Tossa (first dive)

Date of Dive:
June 1, 2023

Location of Dive:
Tossa de Mar, Spain

Noticeable Sightings
Mediterranean Moray Eel (Muraena helena)
Common Octopus (Octopus vulgaris)

When booking my dives, I originally intended to do two dives in Barcelona. So when my dive guide recommended I'd dive in Tossa, I was apprehensive at first. Tossa is located relatively far away from Barcelona. Still, it seemed like a great experience and the dive guide spoke so highly of it, so I said yes. Boy, am I grateful I did! Upon arrival, it was immediately evident that Tossa is THE place to go diving: there were heaps of dive shops and big ones at that. One of the luxuries that I really enjoyed and didn't have at the dive centre in Barcelona were the hot showers.

After having gotten the gear set up and gotten myself squeezed into the wetsuit (5mm), we got in the van that took us to the beach. The beach itself seemed clean and calm, and with a view of the castle, it seems like a great place to spend the day even if you’re not a diver. We entered the water from the shore, close to some rock formations. These rocks created a beautiful looking landscape both above and underwater, and more importantly, they functioned as a perfect home for a variety of marine species. Because we had so swim over top of the rocks, it required better buoyancy skills than I had previously needed. Fortunately, it went better than it ever had, so I could focus my attention on my beautiful surroundings. There were a lot of gobies, wrasses, and breams in all shapes and colours. They were much more curious than the fish in the bay in Barcelona, so I was able to get a good look on most of them.

As I’m still a beginner I have yet to learn all the hand signals for the different animals. Obviously, as a cephalopod lover, I recognise the hand sign for octopus, but when the guide made biting gestures with his hand I had no idea what to expect. However, quickly I saw what he was trying to say: there was a morray eel! The eels were yellow snd blue/greyish and so nice to look at. Apperently, Tossa is a morray eel heaven and we saw so many of them. Esoecially seeing them swim was absolutely amazing!

Ahter having made our way around a relatively large rock formation, one of the other divers did the one animal hand signal I knew immediately: the octopus! It was very well hidden wedge in a crack in the rock, but it was good to see it nonetheless. I had already suspected there would be a few around as I had seen many cracked open clams and urchins, and a lot of places for it to hide. Couldn't be happier to have seen yet another octopus (after having seen one during my course in February).

After having done our decompression time, it was time to exit the water. It was such a great dive!

 

First Dive as an Open Water diver

Date of Dive:
May 31, 2023

Location of Dive:
Barcelona, Spain

Noticeable Sightings
Seahorse (Hippocampus ramulosus)
Nudibranch (Prostheceraeus roseus)

After haven gotten my PADI Open Water in February 2023, I have finally completed my first logged dive as a true diver. As it was the same location where I did my course (and with the same dive guide), I was familiar with the dive site. This was perfect to get back into it, but unlike during my course we saw a seahorse this time! It was perfectly hidden between pieces of seaweed and if it weren't for the guides, I'm sure I never would've spotted it.

Unfortunately, visibility wasn't great which made me finally truly comprehend how easy it is to get disoriented underwater. Still, all went really well and I was rewarded with yet another amazing dive experience!