El Salpatxot

Large rock blocks appear within minutes of leaving the mooring line. The slope falls gently from 5 metres, blocks growing in size as the depth increases, each one wrapped in gorgonian fans and sheltering scorpionfish in the shadows. Groupers move between the blocks at recreational depth, often unhurried. Sea bream and corballo schools accompany divers across the slope, and in summer the open water above produces flashes of barracuda. The Salpatxot rock itself is the navigational landmark and the mid-route reference. From there the slope eases into a Posidonia oceanica meadow, where the dive's character shifts. Octopuses retreat into the seagrass, crustaceans pick through the leaf litter, and the dive can finish on the meadow margin between 5 and 12 metres. If the fan mussels are still here, this is where they stand.

Every other headline Medes dive is vertical. Carall Bernat is a pinnacle, the Dofins are a cavern complex, Pedra de Déu is a wall. Salpatxot goes the other way: a slope that ends in seagrass. The Posidonia meadow is not filler at the back end of the dive. It is a nursery ecosystem, one of the most productive habitats in the Mediterranean, and rare among the routine Medes rotations because the southern archipelago is mostly rock and drop-off. The two-habitat mosaic, refuge blocks above and seagrass below, packs distinct biological communities into a single 50-minute profile. The Costa Brava underwater-photography forums return to this site repeatedly, which is the strongest signal of fish density and macro variety, since photographers vote with their cameras.

Currents. One L'Estartit centre flags them as a regular factor here, even though the terrain is gentle and the Generalitat's own description does not mention currents at all. The boat briefing is the difference, so listen properly. The north-face position shelters the site from south winds, which means your centre may route you here when the marquee southern sites are blown out. That is not a fallback dive. The site earns its reputation on calm days too. Bring a camera. Nitrox 32 % is recommended for the 18-20 m typical profile. Visibility can drop in spring when mucilage or River Ter runoff clouds the water, but from June onwards conditions are generally good. The reserve fee, 5.30 EUR per person per dive, is paid through the dive centre, and advance booking is essential in summer because the daily diver quota fills.