This spring I fell under the spell of a new hobby; diving. A friend told me that in Andalusia, and in particular the Costa del Sol and the Costa Tropical, it is surprisingly beautiful under water. Diving has always fascinated me and I never had time for it in the Netherlands, so I started to look into it here.
 
After a few phone calls and inquiries, I discovered that from the beginning of 2019 a Dutch diving center has existed on "our coast", consisting of an SSI diving school and a shop with all the necessary diving equipment. Dutch Scuba Divers is located in Caleta de Velez, between Torre del Mar and Nerja and on a daily basis they take people diving or snorkeling to the most beautiful dive sites in southern Spain.

After the first meeting I noticed that they operate in a different way to the other diving centres that I had visited before. Peter and his instructors work very closely with all the divers and snorkelers, they are very competent at what they do and are always ready for some fun!

The day starts with the morning reception when you arrive at the dive center. Firstly, you have a cup of coffee and get to know your dive supervisor /instructor and your fellow divers. Then they take you to their "trastero" (Spanish for storage) to get the diving or snorkeling equipment you need for the day. All their equipment is clean, new and well maintained, something that is not always the case at some other centres.
 
Depending on your destination that day,you go to one of their two boats: the “Buceoland I” which is a so-called "hard boat" of 10 metres long and 3 meters wide and is the day boat that sails quietly along the beautiful Spanish coast. Or the “Buceolanda II “an 8 metre RIB with a 200 HP outboard engine that will take you to your dive site super-fast. On both boats you will be well catered for with coffee, tea, water, fruit, light snacks and a sandwich. Sometimes you drive with the whole team to Marine del ‘Est at La Herradura and start your dive from the beach which is an interesting experience compared to diving from a boat.

In the past few months I have obtained my SSI diving license and navigation under the guidance of Peter, Martin and Dave and in those weeks I have often been to the Cerro Gordo, the national underwater park between Maro / Nerja and La Herradura. I was not aware that the sea was so beautiful such a short distance from our house in Canillas de Aceituno. I have seen really beautiful marine animals under water such as the Mola Mola the famous angelfish, octopus, stonefish, conger eels, mero's, groupers. barracudas, tuna and not to mention shoals of sardines and boquerones. Swimming through them is a really fantastic experience and when the sun is shining at the right angle in the water, the reefs are full of color and special details, the first time this happened I couldn’t believe my eyes !
 
I am now "addicted" to diving and can really recommend that you give it a try. Are you on holiday in Spain on the Costa del Sol or have you chosen to live in Andalusia just like me then visit the Dutch Scuba Divers for a wonderful day 'underwater', whether diving or snorkeling. I wonder if you will find it as great as I do!

Jan B.

Link: www.dutchscubadivers.com