Grouper
Where else in the Mediterranean these days can you dive among big schools of barracuda being buzzed by amberjacks? There aren’t many places Topside is just as stunning as below the surface
stay’ packages if you need them to. The diving season is roughly from Easter through until late-October. UK divers heading for the Med tend to go for destinations such as Malta, Gibraltar, Cyprus, Croatia, Sardinia or select spots around the Greek Islands, but there are other less-known places such as Ustica. My awareness of Ustica came from a visit to the spectacular Aeolian Islands to the East, and a fascination with maps whereby I ‘joined the dots’, so to speak. Upon reading up about Ustica, and discovering the marine reserve aspect, it was added to my ‘must visit’ list. I took quite a few years to get around to it, but I was very glad when it happened. It was the fulfilment of a long(ish) held ambition. So how about it? Nudibranch
Due to the popularity of diving, there are (we were told) nine dive centres currently operating on Ustica. We made our initial enquiry with Blue Diving, mainly because they had a nice website with good images (attractive to photographers like me). We got a prompt and friendly response from Guiseppe (the owner), so we decided to book our diving with them. They turned out to be a really welcoming, enthusiastic and professional dive operation and we really enjoyed the time we spent with them – it was an excellent choice. They share resources with another dive centre (Mr Jump), who had the same ethos. The Blue Diving shop is located in the square of the lovely, well-kept little town, a short walk away from our rented apartment. Nearby are a selection of trattorias, cafes, bars, tiny gift shops, bakeries and grocery stores that we would enjoy visiting and sampling during our stay. Once you’ve checked in and the dive certification paperwork is complete, dive gear is transported down to the harbour, where it is kept for the duration of a visit. If you need gear (such as a heavy camera) brought back up the hill each day, the Blue Diving team can arrange Divers explore the seagrass for critters
that for you to collect in the shop in the afternoon. The picturesque little harbour is a hive of dive activity in the mornings, with all dive centres descending on the area at roughly the same time. The format of the dives is an 8.30am meet up for a 9am departure, and (as all dive sites are within a ten- or 15-minute RIB ride) the divers return to the harbour for drinks and snacks in a sun shelter prior to the second dive, which sets off at about 11.30am. Return from the second dive is around 1pm-1.30pm, which gives divers the afternoon and evening to do other things. Night dives are also scheduled once or twice a week and set off at dusk. We didn’t know what to expect with water temperatures, so we travelled with both tropical and medium temperature gear. It was stiflingly hot during our stay (some days were around 38 degrees C), and water temperatures were high. I dived the whole trip in my tropical gear as the water temperatures in the shallow water were 26-28 degrees C. Thermoclines at around 20m would
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