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Diving with… Divers Cabo de Palos, Murcia, Spain
In this ongoing series, we speak with the people who run dive centres, resorts and liveaboards from around the world about their businesses and the diving they have to offer…
What are your names?
Raul Ibañez and Isabel Laguardia
What is the name of your business?
Divers Cabo de Palos
What is your role within the business?
Owners, Skippers, Instructors, Desk guys, cleaning crew… and everything that is needed!
How long has the business operated for?
We opened 30/04/2016
How long have you dived for and what qualification are you?
We have been diving for overa decade and we are both PADI Specialty Instructors. Isabel is an IANTD Instructor too.
What is your favourite type of diving?
We enjoy most the naturalist and underwater photography diving. We love to see marine life and try to learn more and more about them with every dive; discover new creatures and watch their behavioral patterns.
If you could tell people one thing about your business (or maybe more!) to make them want to visit you what would it be?
We are located at the gateway of the Marine Preserve Islas Hormigas. It’s a very beautiful thing to come to see: big groupers, huge barracuda banks, dentex, big octopuses and different species are the highlights of the marine preserve. There’s also many small creatures like nudibranch and smaller fishes crowding the marine dive spots.
What is your favourite dive in your location and why?
It’s very difficult to choose, so we are going to cheat a little and choose one dive each!
Raul: My favourite dive spot is the Naranjito Wreck, a cargo ship that sank on April 1946. It lies in navigation position on a 42m sandy bottom with the main deck at 26m deep. This dive spot is one of the best places to see sunfish in spring and summer. There are a lot of different species to watch here because it’s almost at the edge of the marine reserve borders.
Isabel: My favourite dive spot is the Bajo de Dentro dive site in the Marine Reserve. It’s an underwater mountain that reaches up to 5m depth from a rocky and sandy bottom of 33-40m. Full of gigantic groupers, dentex, and moray eels, this spot is one of the best to see big banks of great amberjacks that cloud the place preying on the smaller fish.
What types of diving are available in your location?
Naturalist and underwater photography, wreck diving, deep diving, boat diving, shore diving and night diving.
What do you find most rewarding about your current role?
Everything is challenging and exciting but the thing most rewarding is that, so far, everyone that has visited us has been very happy and pleased with the experience.
What is your favorite underwater creature?
Raul: My favourite underwater creature is the octopus. Their curiosity and behaviour fascinates me. Also, when you find a really small one in a hiding place, normally, if not disturbed or fished, you can watch how the octopus grows and changes their behaviour towards you.
Isabel: My favourite underwater creature is the “boga” (sea bream). Ok, not a boga, but the big schools of “bogas” that just look like cartoons, making shapes and moving all at once when the predators come to hunt. I could spend hours staring at them.
Are there any exciting changes / developments coming up in the near future?
We think that scuba diving is evolving into a more eco friendly industry, trying to protect our marine environment more and more. We hope that we are part of this process and will see the outcome of these changes pretty soon.
Is your center involved in any environmental work?
Yes, we are collaborating with Murcia University in their efforts to achieve a greater understanding of the marine reserve ecosystem, helping on their projects and working with them in some challenging studies. Also, recently we obtained the EcoDiver Trainer title from the ReefCheck Mediterranean organization that will improve their citizen science projects.
How do you see the SCUBA / Freediving / snorkeling industry overall? What changes would you make?
As we mentioned a bit above, we think that this industry is on an evolutionary process to a much more eco friendly industry and a general change towards creating bigger respect for our waters.
What would you say to our visitors to promote the diving you have to offer?
That they will not be disappointed by the life here! Really, we have a lot to offer and as we are a small family business, we try to accommodate our clients every need. Also, safety is our number one priority, so we have one guide for each different level of divers in order to make different dives routes in the same spot depending on the certification level or experience.
Where can our visitors find out more about your business?
On our website you can find a lot of information about our dives, such as maps, videos, photos and more. On our Facebook page you can find day to day information about the dives in the area and lots of photos and videos (and a comic!) On our Youtube Channel you can see all the videos we’ve edited so far and on our TripAdvisor profile you can read how much our guests have enjoyed their visits.
In early summer we were given a wonderful opportunity to visit Alonissos in the Sporades Islands in the northern Aegean Sea. This green and forested island sits at the edge of the Alonissos National Marine Park, the largest marine protected area in Europe. Our main focus was to be scuba diving, but during our short stay we were especially impressed with all of the other activities and experiences available on Alonissos for the discerning vacationer.
The scuba diving was really outstanding. In contrast to some areas of the Mediterranean, the marine biodiversity here was impressively diverse and abundant. Our short stay meant we just had a small taste of the diving available, however our hosts at Alonissos Triton Dive Center treated us to some exceptional sites from their impressively long list. The variety of marine life we encountered was a delight: large Gorgonian sea fans, many species of nudibranchs, small pipefish to large groupers, octopus, and much more.
One of the most incredible experiences was the chance to dive the oldest accessible shipwreck in the world, the Ancient Shipwreck of Peristera underwater archeological site from 500 BC … an amazing dive site with a very unique automated underwater museum monitoring system in place to protect its archaeological heritage. It was a busy but hugely satisfying few days of diving and we could certainly spend much longer on this idyllic isle!
Greece has a huge number of beautiful islands to visit, so why choose Alonissos?
This island is one of the quieter Greek islands and as such has a very relaxed and welcoming feel, where you can find an authentic slice of the Aegean region. And, it is really easy to get there — so many airports in the UK offer flight connections directly to Skiathos (the hub of the Sporades) that you should not have to drive more than 100km in the UK to an airport.
Finally, the variety of non-diving activities is hard to beat. There are boating day trips into the National Marine Park, taking you to visit secluded beaches and giving you a chance to see some amazing wildlife (such as monk seals, Eleonora’s Falcon, and several species of dolphin to name a few). Both the main port town of Patitiri and the old village of Chora are full of interesting shops, charming alleyways, and restaurants with delicious meals. As an added bonus, the Alonissos cheese pie is a particularly moreish local specialty!
As a holiday destination, Alonissos really had everything one could ask for. Look for our full print article in an upcoming issue of Scubaverse’s own Dive Travel Adventures magazine!
Thanks to:
The Municipality of Alonissos (https://alonissos.gr/en/)
Alonissos Triton Dive Center (https://bestdivingingreece.com)
Alonissos National Marine Park (https://alonissos.gr/en/marine-park/overview.html)
Paradise Hotel (https://paradise-hotel.gr/)
Albedo Travel (https://alonissosholidays.com/)
What is your name?
(Anastasios) Tasos Ktistis
What is the name of your business?
Sporades Diving: Skopelos Dive Center operates in Skopelos island and Ikion Diving that operates in Alonissos island, which is run by my business partner Kostas Danis.
What is your role within the business?
Master Scuba Diving Trainer PADI & Co-Owner of Skopelos Dive Center & Manager of Skopelos Island diving operations
How long has the business operated for?
Since 2014
How long have you dived for, and what qualification are you?
I have been diving since 2012. I am a Mechanical Engineer with a BA in Documentary Photography and since 2012 I am qualified as a Master Scuba Diving Trainer PADI, since 2021 Tec65 diver and since 2022 as a Tec40 Diving Instructor
What is your favorite type of diving?
Wreck Diving
If you could tell people one thing about your business (or maybe more!) to make them want to visit you what would it be?
We offer our clients a safe and relaxed type of diving in the exciting and crystal-clear waters of the Sporades islands in Greece. Christoforos and Peristera’s ancient wreck are two must dive destinations.
What is your favorite dive in your location and why?
My favorite dive location is the “Christophoros” shipwreck. A 83m long modern shipwreck that sank in 1983 in Panormos Bay in Skopelos island. As a wreck diving lover, I am so excited that as one of our dive locations I get to dive on this amazing site with our clients.
What types of diving are available in your location?
On our dive sites the rocky landscape is dominant with beautiful reefs, walls and caverns that I am sure everyone will enjoy. And of course wreck diving at the “Christophoros” shipwreck
What do you find most rewarding about your current role?
The satisfaction and the happiness on our clients’ faces after a dive.
What is your favorite underwater creature?
Nudibranches!
As a center what is the biggest problem you face at the moment?
I would say the fact that the Sporades islands have a short summer season (July-August) although the weather is ideal for diving from May till October.
Is your center involved in any environmental work?
Of course we are! First of all, we are all great advocates of the less plastic movement that has started in 2014, not only in Skopelos but also in Alonissos (Ikion Diving). We participate in underwater clean-ups as well as in projects for local management of plastic waste (#zeroplastic with iSea and Re-Shape plastic-funded by Beyond Plastic MED.)
Are there any exciting changes / developments coming up in the near future?
We currently aspire to get more involved in Scientific Diving projects by actively supporting the operations through our involvement in EU funded projects, while at the same time we are also exploring the possibilities of Technical Diving as me and my partner of the Alonissos base, Kostas Danis, are certified PADI Tec40 Instructors. We believe that in the future our business will be well known for not only its recreational diving services but also its involvement with the Scientific Diving community through its technical diving services and expertise.
How do you see the SCUBA / Freediving / snorkeling industry overall? What changes would you make?
I believe that SCUBA and in general alternative tourism becomes more inclusive and even more people are interested to get to engage in this type of activities that ultimately protect the environment by raising awareness of the public about the ecosystem of the sea and its significance to a viable future.
Finally, what would you say to our visitors to promote the diving you have to offer?
At Skopelos Dive Center and Ikion Diving Alonissos (Sporades Diving Group) you can create fantastic underwater experiences – including guided dives, PADI courses, and snorkeling tours combining the two islands. It is our goal to create a safe, comfortable experience for divers of all abilities.
Where can our visitors find out more about your business? (This is where you enter your contact details and any specific details on how our audience can reach you)
Website: https://sporadesdiving.gr/
Skopelos Dive Center (Skopelos Island)
+306940448000
Ikion Diving Alonissos (Alonissos island)
+30 6940 448 004 (WhatsApp: +30 6984181598)
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