Diving in Almyrida

Date of Dive:
July 16, 2024

Location of Dive:
Almyrida, Crete, Greece

Noticeable Sightings
Lionfish (Pterois miles)
Mediterranean damselfish (Chromis chromis)

My first dives since getting my Advanced Adventurer certification! I was really excited to go diving is the warm, Greek waters again. We left the harbour of Almyrida a bit later than expected, but since it was my day off I didn’t really mind (I was back in Greece for another season of volunteering for the sea turtles, read more here). We went to a small cove with crystal clear water to do 2 wall dives!

The first dive was just fine. I had some issues clearing and my mask kept fogging up. It got a bit better towards the end of the dive but unfortunately it did make the dive slightly underwhelming for me. Still, the area is beautiful. I had never done a wall dive before and it was a good experience. Especially towards the end we turned a corner and the sun shone through the water creating a beautiful scene with the contrasting mediterranean damselfish (Chromis chromis).

The second dive was much better than the first. Glad to report that I didn’t really have mask issues anymore, though this dive my camera ran out of battery. We saw heaps of invasive lion fish, more damselfish, and bunch of tube worms.

For me, I love diving because of the marine life, but it is so much more than that. Diving is such a calming experience - just floating through the water, feeling weightless - it is almost like meditation. Still, if you dive solely for the variety of pretty fishes and other critters, this might not be the best place for you to dive. Other times when diving in Greece, I at least saw a bunch of breams, wrasses, and gobies, but here there weren’t many different species.