La Xinxa

The boat moors at the islet, two peaks visible above and below the surface, and the descent puts divers on a rocky platform at 8 to 10 metres beside one of them. From there a short circumnavigation rounds the islet north to south, and the through-tunnel appears early in the route at 9 metres — about 4 metres long, light at both ends, narrow enough to preview from the entrance with a torch and short enough to clear in seconds. Past the tunnel exit, two overhangs sit along the wall, both shallow enough that natural light still reaches them but dim enough that a beam reveals the sponges, coralligenous patches, and the small life tucked into the rock.

The standard route returns to the upline at the peaks. Divers with time and gas can follow a pebble path eastward instead, dropping gradually through 12-15 metres to a maximum of 18-20 metres on the eastern extension before circling back. The dive is not a multi-zone exploration — it is one short loop with two structural features and an optional depth extension.

Three things in combination on a single short circumnavigation. A through-tunnel passable at Open Water level, with natural light at both ends and a depth profile that puts no pressure on a new diver's gas. Two shallow overhangs that change under a torch beam, giving the dive a contrast between bright open water and dim invertebrate-coated rock. And a documented macro reputation — close-up nudibranch images taken specifically here have been circulated among local Costa Brava macro photographers since 2008, with composition exchanges that confirm the islet as a known local nudibranch-photography location rather than an incidental find.

The combination is what separates La Xinxa from sibling coast sites. Negre del Falaguer is denser in biomass and goes deeper. La Pedrosa's tunnel is the headline coast dive at AOW depth. Cala Viuda is the cave-system option. La Xinxa is the short, shallow structure dive — one tunnel, two overhangs, and a slow circle around an islet with two visible peaks.

Bring a torch and a macro lens if you have one. The torch is for the overhangs as much as the tunnel; the macro setup is for the nudibranchs the site is documented to hold. Tunnel passage is short and skylit, but a guide is sensible on a first-tunnel dive. Fins clear of the walls inside the tunnel — sponges and coralligenous patches damage easily.

The site is on the Montgrí coast, so no Medes reserve permit, quota, or per-dive park tax applies. The €5.30 tax billed by some centres covers Medes-zone dives only. Spanish law still requires diving insurance and a dive computer. Mooring buoys only across the Park; centres handle this. Boats run from L'Escala (around 15 minutes) and from L'Estartit on coast-day offerings; L'Escala-side operators include Mateua Dive and Grassi Sub, with Scuba Alegre running from Sant Pere Pescador.