Christmas with the family out the way, I flew to Tenerife for a week over New Year, with my girlfriend Claire and two non-diving friends of hers. I'd heard good things on here about the diving and also about the warm welcome offered by Rebecca (Moray) and Michael (Scuba1) at
Ocean Quest …... happy to report it's all true
…..
The Logistics…
We'd left it a bit late before deciding to go, and at first it looked as though we were out of luck as all accommodation was booked up, but as I was trawling the net for alternatives, a PM arrived from Rebecca - there's a bungalow just become free over New Year, am I still interested? You bet! Flights weren't that cheap with it being New Year, but we found some, and shortly after Christmas, the four of us stepped off the plane and swapped cold grey London, for warm sunny Tenerife. Michael met us at the airport, and Rebecca had cooked us all dinner, and prepared a welcome bag for our bungalow - coffee, bread, jam etc, all the essentials that you normally run around trying to find a shop for when you first arrive in a self catering place - a very nice touch. Rebecca and Michael's hospitality throughout the week was much appreciated and made for a nice relaxing holiday.
The Island…
Tenerife is volcanic, the skyline dominated by the volcano rising to over 3000m. Apparently it's well worth the trek up for the view, but I was too keen to get in the water, and once you've done your first dive that's your chance of climbing the mountain gone (pressure-wise flying is equal to climbing to 2000m…) Micheal showed us a few pictures from the top, so I felt able to say I'd seen it and move straight to the diving.
A lot of the southern coast of the island, where we were, is dominated by mass tourism. Not the sort of place I'd normally choose, and suffice to say when we ventured into town I felt a bit out of place having left my Burberry and bling at home - tattooed legs, gold chains as thick as your wrist, twelve pints by the pool before lunch… and that's just the women :-) But there are some nice spots too, secluded bays and craggy cliffs, and Michael took us to plenty of them, to dive from…
The Diving…
Was excellent
I'm not an overly fussy diver, I like all sorts - wrecks, reefs, fish, coral, blue, green, big viz, no viz. But I must admit, if had to choose one type of dive over all others it'd probably be the sort of diving they have in Tenerife. I'm a sucker for dramatic rock-scapes underwater, and thanks to its volcanic nature this island has them in abundance. I love slowly drifting out over the edge of a drop off, looking down on the boulders and lava flows below, and was able to do so many times during the week. I'm also a sucker for marine life, big and small, and most dives had plenty of both - titchy scorpion fish hiding under every second rock, damsel fish and rainbow coloured cuckoo wrasse everywhere....
(all photos by Michael)
a large shoal of Garfish just under the surface
octopus and cuttlefish, which we saw one or both of on most dives
I especially liked the trumpet fish, with their long cow like faces and bimbling nature
Eagle rays flying by
(OK, so that's me, don't have a picture of the ray)
and for me one of the biggest wow factors short of a pod of dolphins has got to be looking up from the small stuff to see a large shoal of barracuda nearby, in perfect formation heading into the current like a flight of sliver arrows
Oh, and speaking of current, there was very little, which suited me fine as I think fins are for gently positioning oneself in the water, not this nasty "finning" exercise some guides go in for
We did thirteen dives during the week, and every one was thoroughly enjoyed. If I had to pick a favourite, it would have to be either the night dive at Las Eras (despite being bumped from behind by a creature unseen, and reaching down with great relief to not find a torn bloody gash where my nads used to be
! Swear I saw a lizard fish dissappearing into the black laughing to itself) or one of the day dives also at Las Eras. This site had all the best bits rolled into one - rock landscape, small fish, big fish, cuttlefish, octopi, trumpet fish, barracuda and a nice swim though in which you can hear and feel the surf boom and vibrate. Top stuff.
There aren't as many fish in Tenerife as there are in the Red Sea, and there's not the plethora of coral either, but I enjoyed it just as much - think a forest in autumn colours compared to the neon of Piccadilly
A word on Shore Diving…
At first when I heard all the diving was from the shore, I was a bit wary - previously all really good diving had been boat diving for me, the few shore dives I'd done in the UK being OK, but not mind blowing. I needn't have worried though - Tenerife being volcanic means that a few hundred metres out and it's 500m down! All the sites can be reached from the shore, there's no need for a boat, and it makes for very relaxed diving.
And Guides…
Speaking of relaxed, have you ever dived with an overkeen guide? Asking for your air every ten minutes, always waving and pointing out every second fish in the water? I hate that. Well, the icing on the cake for this trip was that Michael is nothing like that at all - just let's you enjoy the dive, occasionally pointing something special out if you've not already seen it - perfect
OK, I've waffled enough. In summary, Tenerife, great diving, Rebecca and Michael, great hosts - I'm definitely going back for more of the same, and highly recommend it
Dave.
PS
Whisky - A photographic warning...
(aka beating Michael to the post
)
