El Sumergible

El Sumergible, the submarine, is a 25 metre long natural rock tunnel cutting through one of the lesser-known seamounts of the Cabo de Palos reserve. The tunnel entrance lies at 22 metres on the sheltered side of the rock and exits at 28 metres on the deeper face, lit by both openings and large enough for a comfortable single-file passage. The walls inside are matted in encrusting sponges, golden cup coral and small red coral colonies under the upper edge, while schools of cardinalfish curtain the chamber. Outside the tunnel divers find the typical reserve fauna: dusky groupers, brown meagre, schools of saddled seabream, dense octopus and moray populations, and pelagic encounters with barracuda or amberjack on the deeper face. With moderate depth, weak currents on the inshore approach and visibility above 25 metres, El Sumergible is a favourite intermediate dive in the reserve. The Cabo de Palos and Hormigas Islands marine reserve, declared in 1995, is one of the best-recovered fish populations of the western Mediterranean and a benchmark for the regional government of Murcia. Water temperature ranges from 14 C in February to 26 C in August. Dive operators are concentrated in the village of Cabo de Palos at the tip of the Mar Menor lagoon and access to the reserve is regulated by daily quotas on the most popular sites such as Bajo de Fuera and the Naranjito wreck.