Los Burros

Two flat volcanic slabs sit on open sand 200 metres offshore from the Cabo de Gata coast, just over a metre proud of the bottom and separated by a sandy channel that the boat anchors in. Drop down the line into roughly 16 metres of sand and both slabs come into view once visibility settles. The standard route is a slow lap of the first slab — checking under the rock for moray and conger eels, peering into cracks for nudibranchs and Cerianthus tube anemones — then a short crossing of the sand strip to the second formation and a repeat. The bottom runs 18 to 21 metres. The topography is low and simple, and the work of the dive is staying long enough for the residents to come into focus. Dusky groupers and gold-blotch grouper hold position around the rocks rather than bolting; amberjack work the blue water above the slabs in shifting schools. Eyes stay on the mid-water as much as on the rock — the open-sea drift of a sunfish through the blue is the encounter the site is most known for, even if it is not a given.

In an area of sheltered coves at 10-14 metres, Los Burros is one of the few places to dive open water at moderate depth without the commitment of the El Vapor profile. The reason is ecology rather than scenery. One area tourism source is candid that the bottom itself is not pretty, and the local logic for why it works is in the same sentence: because the slabs sit on sand far from shore, marine life concentrates on the rock for protection. Two flat stones acting as a fish magnet on empty sand is a different invitation than a wall or a cavern, and the pairing with Piedra de los Meros makes the standard warm-up sequence before centres clear divers for El Vapor. The dual etymology fixes the character: yellow cliff above water for Los Amarillos, historically dense triggerfish below for Los Burros.

Plan around the wind. Levante and swell affect this open-water site more than the protected coves, and centres routinely substitute a sheltered alternative when conditions don't allow it. The anchor goes in the sandy channel rather than on Posidonia, and noting its bearing during descent makes the slabs easy to find on ascent. Nitrox is worth arranging in advance for the bottom-time gain at 18-21 metres, and the iSub boat outing carries a 3 EUR supplement when paired with Piedra de los Meros. Standard safety equipment matters because the site is open water 200 metres offshore: computer, SMB for the ascent, torch for the slab crevices. Trim and buoyancy keep you off the rock, and no-contact applies to the slabs and the surrounding Posidonia margins alike. Centres handle the reserve permit administratively for booked clients; independent shore divers need the separate infantería permit from the Junta de Andalucía, processed online or next-day at the Rodalquilar park office, and night diving is not allowed under that permit.