Mar Menuda

Mar Menuda is a small beach to the east of wich lies a narrow rocky gallery called Es forat de Sa Pauma or Sa banyera de Ses Dones. Its soft sandy bottom descends gradually and is the perfect place for beginners because it offers a gradual and very sheltered entrance into the water. Even with SW winds, the waters of Sa Banyera remain calm, and are only afected by strong east storms. The initial depth of some 4 or 5 m falls abruptly to a sandy corridor about 8 m deep. From here three different routes can be taken: straight on leads to L'Illa (the largest rock and the furthest from the coast); to the right leads to the Mar Menuda beach and to the left to Ses Illetes.
    The seabed between the promontory of Mar Menuda and L'Illa is highly attractive. In the middle of the Freu -the channel- a ledge lies 3-4 m below the surface. It is known as the Pedra del Freu and, after a small steep incline, it falls always almost vertically to a depth of 15-18 m. The seabed here is sandy, with rounded pebbles and seaweed while the seabed in the outer part of the Freu of the Illa is about 20 m deep.
    Leave the Banyera (bathtub) and head eastward along the rock of El Bou (photophilus community on hard stone with some skiaphilous) as far as the cave at 19-20 m. Divers unfamiliar will probably miss the cave on the outward leg, but will come across it on the return journey, as it has a sand beach in front of it. Some German authors call it the Christmas Cave or The Cave of Bethlehem as for many years there was a crib at the entrance to the cave (though it is no longer there).
    Roca Asunción is the name given to a precoralligenous bar wich runs more or less parallel to the coast (SE of the Cave of Bethlehem after crossing an esplanade of sand). The rock rises from a bed of sand and seaweeds at a depth of 22-23 m, and is one of the best areas for diving.
    Following the coast northward you come to the group of Ses Illetes, the cove of L'Infern and Es Sot d'en Boada. Ses Illetes form a maze of countless islands, islets and reefs with rocky galleries lying on sandy or pebbly beds. The area is shalllow and execelent for snorkeling. The cove of L'Infern en Caixa, however, is somewhat different: Its a spectacular narrow crevice taht forms a small sandy beach from where one can hear the chrashing of the waves on stormy days... There are plans to convert the whole area of La Rotja, from the promontory of L'Illa to Es Palomar, into a protected area.

SEABEDS:

The underwater landscape is dominated by attractive rock galleries whose sandy beds descend gradually. Clumps of Neptune grass appear among the rocks, the upper surface of wich are covered with bright green Halimeda Tuna algae (especially at the beginning of the spring). Damselfish, bream and gilthead abound while you should see dentex, octopus, rays, moray eels and fan mussels, as well as white sea-whips, brotulids and maybe some groupers near L'Illa. Squid begin to appear at the end of the year, while eggs are always laid in the cave (at Christmas); later, anglerfish and common stingrays arrive (they lie in the sand). The conger is also a frequent visitor to this area.

Recomendations:

During the summer months, be particularly careful of passing boats.
Begin the dive from the "Banyera". Sould sea conditions be such that is impossible to finish the dive at the "Banyera", the safest alternative would be to leave from the beach.

Click HERE if you want to see a detailed submarine map of this zone

Other interesting zones

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NOTE: The descriptions texts are extracted from the book "The 32 best diving Routes in Costa Brava" of Mr. Andreu Llamas.