Our last trip for 2023 takes us to Sicily. Exploring something new is on the agenda. Is it worthwile to come to the island 🏝️ in the Mediterranean as a new destination?
Sicily is one of the many large (in this case probably the largest) rocks 🪨 in the Mediterranean. Lots of barren land under a sunny sky. Rugged coasts, the lava rock creates many rock formations above and below the water.
Sicily’s position in the Mediterranean offers a great diversity of species all around. Depending on the time of year, you can see just about anything a diver’s heart desires, from the smallest nudibranch to passing whales.
Even though the island was repeatedly fought over during the wars of recent eras, there are unfortunately not many large wrecks to be found. But every now and then “small stuff”. At greater depths, there are sometimes more exciting things like a submarine.
The seasons separate the different diver levels. During the high season in summer it gets warm, very warm. Then the bases are full of divers 🤿 in T-shirts plowing through the seagrass meadows. Unfortunately, sometimes in the truest sense of the word.
In the low season, from mid-October to mid-December, it is much quieter and the bases cater to the more demanding divers. “Sporties” as well as “tekkies”. Whatever one or the other may mean 😉
Even in December, the water is still a very pleasant 17°C, even in a semi-dry suit.
The first bases have closed and the ones that are still open are not overcrowded. That’s how we like it.
I went on my last boat trip of the year with Capo Murro Diving.
In addition to the obligatory “check dive”, we went to the wreck of a Royal Navy plane that was shot down in 1941.
A Fairey Fulmar, which usually takes off from aircraft carriers, can practically fold away its wings and is controlled by a pilot and co-pilot.
It was shot down by anti-aircraft guns on the nearby coast in 1941, the two pilots made it ashore, were picked up there and taken as prisoners of war. In 1943, they were liberated by the Allies during the conquest of Sicily.
The cafés, bars and restaurants that are still open then switch back from mass cooking to good Italian cuisine, sights can be visited in a relaxed manner without having to push your way through tourists from different nations.
Sicily will be on the list, and we might do a tour there next fall. We’ll keep you up to date 🙂
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