El Trencat

Out of Port Balis, the boat heads south-east for ten or fifteen minutes and anchors directly on what feels like one of the better parts of the structure. The descent line runs to about 21m onto rocky top with crevices in every direction. From here, the dive's character changes within a few fin-kicks. Move north or north-east and the rock is densely featured — productive for moray, lobster, and the small life that makes this site reward attention. Continue until the structure flattens. Loop south or fan east and the bottom slopes onto open sand at about 24m, the contact zone where the occasional eagle ray crosses and the gas plan starts to pinch.

The west flank is rockier with isolated blocks and discontinuous crevices that run a parallel option for the second leg. Centres typically lay a line across the rock from the anchor as a return reference, so divers exit on a different face from the one they entered on. A typical profile is forty to fifty minutes at 22-24m, which is tight on air and the practical reason most centres recommend Nitrox 32 here.

What rewards a slow second pass on the rocky top is macro detail. Spring 2026 dives have logged pink flatworm (Prostheceraeus roseus) on the shallower sections, Discodoris atromaculata camouflaged on rock, a Cribrinopsis crassa anemone with a white-bodied Cratera peregrina nudibranch attached, and Flabellinas in the cracks. Cuttlefish near the anchor have been reported by other divers in the group. A torch helps because much of this lives in shadow.

The geometry is what sets El Trencat apart from the longer Port Balis ridges. A compact structure where the anchor lands on the most productive section, with cardinal directions opening into different characters: macro and crevices on the north and west, sand drop-off east, and a softer southern exit. Older dive blogs describe the same general shape: a 5-7m wide rocky ridge with isolated blocks east. The cold-water nudibranch finds, including pink flatworm and the locally-distinctive vaquita suiza, bring photographers back across seasons. Eagle rays on the east-side sand-rock contact are not guaranteed but show up in centre and trip-report records often enough to call them part of the site's repertoire.

This is a moderate-depth dive that benefits from a couple of preparation choices. Run Nitrox if your centre offers it — at 22-24m the air-tank version of this dive ends before the diver has fully worked the structure. Bring a torch for the crevice macro that defines the experience. The east-side sand drop-off is a short fan-out from the anchor; budget gas and time for it if you want the eagle-ray zone. SMB, cutting device, and dive computer round out the kit list required by Spanish recreational law. Surface chop on Garbi (SW) days makes the boat ride uncomfortable; the bottom is usually unaffected.