NERJA, COSTA DEL SOL

by Steve Lovell

Following a year of our respective parents being ill and in hospital, resulting in a couple of cancelled holidays, my wife and I managed to get a friend to look after the kids for a week and set off to Nerja, a small town about 70 kilometres east of Malaga for a week in the sun.

There are a number of dive centres in the area. However, I chose to dive with `ScubaNerja` which is situated on Burriana Beach on the east side of the town. All in all, I had six dives during my stay. It seems that most of the tourists dive from the numerous beaches situated along this part of the Costa del Sol .

Dive number one was at Marina del Este beach. I went on to dive this on two other occasions. There are a number of different entry points at this location, each one a little different from the others. The dive party included myself, the guide David (who is Spanish and runs the dive centre with his German wife Anja) and a group of four German divers. This was mid-April and I had been advised to use a 5mm semi-dry. To be honest, I could have used the 5mm semi-dry and the 5mm outer part which, together with gloves and a hood I did'nt bring. Easyjet's "sporting goods allowance" does'nt include scuba gear. It seems their executives don't partake in diving yet.

There was'nt an awful lot to see and the viz was only about 5 metres. My coldness was compounded by the Germans insistance on stopping every few metres to either look into a hole with their new torches or photograph something. Good job the surface temperature was in the mid 20's, which enabled me to warm up quickly. Having said that, the entry was extremely easy. Simply kit up, walk a few metres down to the beach and into the water. If you are used to negotiating Chesil Beach in a dry suit and 300bar 12ltr cylinder, Marina del Este was a breeze. This was true of all the dives. All of the beaches I dived off of were of a medium or fine shingle.

The next dive was from the beach of a village called "La Herradura", which means "The Horseshoe". No doubt named because of the shape of the bay in which it sits. Again, a very easy entry and exit. There was a little more life on this dive. I was buddied up with a Brit called John who was working for the dive centre as a guide. The first thing we saw was a large octopus jealously guarding a dead conger eel. We went onto see some cuttlefish and scores of what must have been sardines. By this time, I had borrowed a hood and, after completing the dive felt a lot warmer and far more comfortable.

The final four dives were in much the same vein. Easy entry and exits, some varied species of fish and improving visibility. The cost of each dive was about 20 euros. This included cylinder, weights and transport to and from the dive site in the centres' minibus. This is pretty much standard for the area. You can reduce costs by buying dive packages of 4, 6 or 10 dives.

If I had to sum up shore diving in this part of Spain, I'd say the marine life is more like home than the Red Sea. The underwater topography is not as dramatic as Malta or Gozo. But what it has got going for it is that Malaga is only just over two hours away from most southern U.K. airports. The cost of the airfare is comparable with a petrol bill to Cornwall from where I live in Bristol, less if you live farther north. You can guarantee good weather, reasonable viz, and with a proliferation of ex-pat Brits in the region, make friends, and you might even get some cheaper diving in !


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