Tenerife

[Diving Dude]

Well we eventually arrived in Tenerife on Friday instead of Wednesday as planned and first thing I do is ring Mike (Scuba1) & Rebecca of South Coast Divers to arrange diving, this instantly pisses wifee off, who’s icy stare and the comment `you’re not going diving tomorrow are you!` (notice the exclamation mark not question mark) forces me to reply well err err no of course not love I’ll stay with you tomorrow and dive the following two days.

So day 1 sit in sun bored f...ing silly just waiting for the next day.

Day 2, picked up from Hotel by George taken back to dive centre to kit up.
I was given a choice of 12 or 15 ltr tanks, chose the 15 since I’m a touch heavy on air.
Off we go to do a couple of shore dives, bit disappointed we weren’t going out on the boat, but I need not have worried.
First dive: A small bay called Las Eras
Good dive gently sloping to 34 mtrs, lots of fish, it is now that I have to apologise, I am hopeless at remembering fish names, my descriptions refer only to size and colour.
Second dive: Los Abrigos "The Pool"
Great dive, climb down (not difficult) and jump into what looks like a small rock pool 4mtrs wide.
We descended swam through a opening to the sea to an area of small caves, glad I had my torch, this showed the true colours of the rock, we noticed the imprint where an Angle Shark had been, quick look around couldn’t see it. Carried on along rock face, we returned via the sand and found the Angle Shark approx 1.5 mtrs long, after a very careful prod it gently lifted off the seabed and glided away.

Day3, This time boat dive
Dive 1: El Palmar "Moray Cave"
Excellent dive 30mtr to seabed 20-25 mtr vis 20deg, (not 21 deg as scuba1 stated)
Entrance to cave system only entered 5-6 mtrs then out and played with moray eels.

Dive 2: El Paraiso "The Anchor"
Not so good, the recent storms had left this area with vis of 7-8 mtrs, which I still thought was pretty good. We had gone to this area to see the stingrays but alas we couldn’t find them. Still I took a banana with me and was like the pied piper of the underwater world, I’d look behind me and it seemed all the fish were following me.

Then back to Hotel pick up wifee take her to Café where she stayed with Rebecca (from South Coats Divers) whilst I went on a night dive with Mike (scuba1)
Night Dive: Los Abrigos "Dead Dog Cove" This was also an excellent dive
I felt like James Bond wading into a small cove in darkness.
We saw Octopus, Squid, Sting Rays  max depth 10mtrs.
Then after dive met up with other halves and on to a local fish restaurant.

This is the fifth time I have dived in Tenerife and without doubt had the best time, unfortunately I could only dive a couple of days but I had a great time and would recommend South Coast Divers.

I `ve probably bored you to death by now so I’ll sign off.

[Mr T.]

[Diving Dude wrote]:

"I`ve probably bored you to death by now so I’ll sign off."


Err....NO!!....FAR FROM IT MATE !!!!

Please don't forget that the majority of divers on here (UK, Red Sea, Maldives, Ozz divers etc.) have never been any where near the Canaries for a holiday, let alone a diving holiday - me included! So any detail or insight I/we can get in to what is obviously something I'm/we're missing is a great help. Thank you.

You sound like you had a great time and enjoyed the diving - that can't be bad! And the report read well too. Looks like Mike/Scuba1 might just well be getting a rush of enquiries as it looks like he knows all the best places to dive.

Cheers the report.

[Mdemon]

DD, how does Tenerife compare with Lanzarotte and Fuerteventura?  The websites seem to go with Tenerife, but I've heard mixed reports from a couple who've dived all three...

I'm with Bren, in that I only thought this year of diving Canaries - very interested to hear your experiences.

John

[John Holmes]

:wavey:
Hi Dude - great report, much appreciated as I'm off to Tenerife next Friday for a week and I've already e-mailed South Coast divers for details of a 10 dive pack. I'll be ringing them as soon as I get there - it sounds as though there are plenty of good dive site ( oh! - and warm water!!)
20 deg?? Paradise....mmmmhhh....hope better half has booked that taxi???
Cheers
John

[Moray]

Hello All

Thank you, DD, for your glowing report - we aim to please! It was definitely fun having you, you NEVER attempt to wind anyone up, do you now, it's just not in your nature *g*
And keeping disgruntled non-diving wives happy during a night dive is far from being a chore, I enjoyed the company immensely.

Mdemon: I really cannot answer your question as to the differences between Fuerte, Lanza and Tenerife. The question is its own answer: every dive site is different, and every dive site has its charms.

I learned in the Red Sea, which everyone said was a mistake, as I would be spoiled and disappointed with other dive sites. Far from it. In the ensuing months after my AOWD, I ventured into Lake Constance, which rivals British waters for darkness and cold temps. Had I expected to see gorgons and lionfish and morays, yes, I would have been disappointed.

There are many good dive centers on Fuerte, notably the Robinson, and a quick tour through the net will certainly give you a better idea of the dive sites. Personally, I have not dived on Fuerte and so cannot add anything. As for Lanzarote, it is good, if somewhat limited as to the amount of dive sites...at least, that was my experience.

Of course I am happy to push Tenerife *grin*, but again I must emphasize the fact that diving ANYWHERE is good, depending on what you expect out of it.

John, be seeing you soon :-)

Regards to all
moray (Rebecca, scuba1's better half *g*)

[Scuba1]

Mdemon if you wantto have a diveguide to the Canary`s may I sugest that you buy the book
Divind in Canaries
by Sergio Hanquet
His homepage is   http://www.sergiohanquet.com
I have had the plesure of meeting the guy and he knows his stuff, and if one gets a a foreword by Humberto Pelizzari you can depend on the quality of the things said in it.
So make upyour own mind before you book a holiday read it and take your pic.

Regards
Michael
Ps. Howard it was fun diving with you and we will do the caves when you get back.( still have to find that person with a box and a shovel )  :shades:


(Edited by Scuba1 at 8:43 pm on Jan. 25, 2003)

[Mdemon]

Cheers Moray + Scuba1.  "Had" to do the Red Sea this time, because of the flights, but will try Tenerife next time.  (I can get there from Exeter, which knocks about £100 off price of holiday for me...!)

BTW, is Tenerife expensive?  E.g. Supermarket prices v's UK and same for restaurantes?

[Scuba1]

If you do your shopping away from the tourist hot spots it is a lot cheaper than the UK.
Regards
Michael

[Mdemon]

Cool!