Go to the French Riviera

• 

August 2007

We leave for the south of the France, go to the French Riviera. Very quickly, the hot and sunny weather of the south contrasts within the north.

As our arrival in Cannes, many diving centres draw our attention :

 - At Golfe Juan, the “Golfe plongée club” will make you visit the more than interesting diving sites of Antibes cape.
The old trawler of the centre is balanced under the swell, the spray splashes and environment is sympatic. Exceptional sites such as the “Fourmigue” or the “Fouillée” await you on the littoral. Murenas, groupers and others nudibranchs are obviously at the rendez-vous.

- At Cannes, the “Cannes Diving Club” will accommodates you on the “Sylpa” boat. The Lérins Islands are the predilection destination, but the centre will also take you along Antibes cape side. School of barracudas, scorpion fishes in any kind, dotted sea-slug, breams and other fishes await you.

Many diving sites are distributed a little everywhere between the Saint-Honorat and Sainte-Marguerite islands, like the “Keys Wall” for example.

During our stay, it is with these two centres that we dived. Many other centres are, of course, distributed everywhere along the coast.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Are there Manta ray in the Mediterranean sea ?

I would like now to tell you an original story. Whereas we begin our first dives, rumors difficult to believe we arrived. Some divers affirm to have seen Manta rays around Antibes cape, still incredible thing a few years ago. We learned that rays would also have been seen further on the coast, towards from the Lérins Islands. During our dives, other divers assure us the presence of rays on the Riviera. It was however difficult to believe this without to have really seen it with our eyes.

How the large Manta rays could have appeared in French waters, whereas since tens of years nobody had seen some?

The mystery is cleared up at the time of our last dive: While I went along large blue sea fans of  “Keys Wall”, we saw it. Our dive master suddenly pointed its finger towards the Blue, indicating a majestic shade which seemed to fly in water. The Manta ray, approximately two meters, which was already impressive for first once, especially in the Mediterranean Sea. Very quickly the shade seemed to disappear in water and to carry alone his way… thus I can confirm the presence of Manta ray in Mediterranean Sea.

Perhaps their presence is due to the weather which is heated… or to water less polluted than before? We don’t know anything about it.

What is sure, it is that the Manta ray are quite present in the Mediterranean Sea.

William Zylberman

Mots clés/Tags: lerins, manta, mediterranean sea, méditerranée, nudibranches, plongée