I have returned to Cyprus (Mediterranean) after being away for 11 years. We got caught out by COVID and had to postpone our trip multiple times. In the meantime, we had a family bereavement on the island, so it's been an emotional visit. In addition, I haven't been diving anywhere near as much as I used to and now have a young son. No longer can I dive all day everyday. Diving has to be balanced against family commitments.
I brought all my gear with me bar weights and cylinders. I keep weights at the family home and hired cylinders from Viking Divers just outside Larnaca. They couldn't have been more helpful. Cost was 7 Euro per cylinder per day including fill. I was solo diving.
On to the diving. First site was "Chapel Rock" because it's easy to find by road and doesn't require 4WD vehicle access. The site is named after a small Greek Orthodox Church in a stunning location. There's a steep walk down some steps to the entry point and I was greeted by the worst sea conditions I've ever seen in Cyprus. Bad conditions for Cyprus are pretty much a good day in New Zealand, so no drama!
After a giant stride from the rocks, I found myself in crystal clear water with a temperature of 28 degrees celsius. My kit felt awkward. My harness was a little loose and a some water got in my mask. Beginner stuff. This is what happens when you don't dive regularly. I don't enjoy being on the surface, especially with swell running, so descended to 6 metres, had a word with myself, cleared my mask and tightened my waist strap...
At this point, let's clear the air about Mediterranean diving. Outside of wreck diving, it's not good by global standards. There are no colourful reefs, fish life is sparse and big animals are even rarer. It's rock, sand and sea grass, but at this point in my diving journey, I'm not too bothered about what I see. I just enjoyed being in warm, clear water. It made a nice change from dodging sharks in the tepid waters off New Zealand.
Once sorted, I descended to 20 metres and everything felt natural. I followed the line where the rocks met sand in one direction and then the other. Everything looked pretty much as I remembered with one stunning addition. There were lion fish everywhere and some of them were huge! They simply weren't present on my previous visits. I also saw some pretty moray eels, amberjack hunting baitfish midwater and various small inshore species. Big tourist boats passed regularly overhead in water as shallow as 12 metres, so that spiced things up. Not a spot to lose control of buoyancy!
Not surprisingly, my air consumption was worse than when I was diving regularly. After 30 minutes at 20 metres, it was time to start heading home. Ascent and exit from the water over the rocks were straightforward.
No underwater pictures this time as I had enough going on without carrying camera gear. However, I have some topside images taken from video.
Second dive of the day was at "Green Bay". A spot (in)famous as an open water training site. In short, visibility was shocking for Cyprus. 3 metres or less in the shallows and increasing to a more normal, but still poor 20 metres in deeper water. Again related to swell. I'm sure visibility will improve as the sea settles over the summer months. Not much of note apart from a school of barracuda and some sculptures that have been placed at the site to make it more interesting for novice divers.
Will this kickstart my stalled diving journey? We will see. To be continued...
I brought all my gear with me bar weights and cylinders. I keep weights at the family home and hired cylinders from Viking Divers just outside Larnaca. They couldn't have been more helpful. Cost was 7 Euro per cylinder per day including fill. I was solo diving.
On to the diving. First site was "Chapel Rock" because it's easy to find by road and doesn't require 4WD vehicle access. The site is named after a small Greek Orthodox Church in a stunning location. There's a steep walk down some steps to the entry point and I was greeted by the worst sea conditions I've ever seen in Cyprus. Bad conditions for Cyprus are pretty much a good day in New Zealand, so no drama!
After a giant stride from the rocks, I found myself in crystal clear water with a temperature of 28 degrees celsius. My kit felt awkward. My harness was a little loose and a some water got in my mask. Beginner stuff. This is what happens when you don't dive regularly. I don't enjoy being on the surface, especially with swell running, so descended to 6 metres, had a word with myself, cleared my mask and tightened my waist strap...
At this point, let's clear the air about Mediterranean diving. Outside of wreck diving, it's not good by global standards. There are no colourful reefs, fish life is sparse and big animals are even rarer. It's rock, sand and sea grass, but at this point in my diving journey, I'm not too bothered about what I see. I just enjoyed being in warm, clear water. It made a nice change from dodging sharks in the tepid waters off New Zealand.
Once sorted, I descended to 20 metres and everything felt natural. I followed the line where the rocks met sand in one direction and then the other. Everything looked pretty much as I remembered with one stunning addition. There were lion fish everywhere and some of them were huge! They simply weren't present on my previous visits. I also saw some pretty moray eels, amberjack hunting baitfish midwater and various small inshore species. Big tourist boats passed regularly overhead in water as shallow as 12 metres, so that spiced things up. Not a spot to lose control of buoyancy!
Not surprisingly, my air consumption was worse than when I was diving regularly. After 30 minutes at 20 metres, it was time to start heading home. Ascent and exit from the water over the rocks were straightforward.
No underwater pictures this time as I had enough going on without carrying camera gear. However, I have some topside images taken from video.
Second dive of the day was at "Green Bay". A spot (in)famous as an open water training site. In short, visibility was shocking for Cyprus. 3 metres or less in the shallows and increasing to a more normal, but still poor 20 metres in deeper water. Again related to swell. I'm sure visibility will improve as the sea settles over the summer months. Not much of note apart from a school of barracuda and some sculptures that have been placed at the site to make it more interesting for novice divers.
Will this kickstart my stalled diving journey? We will see. To be continued...
