Piedras Altas

Divers drop straight to the first blocks, and the route weaves between them past bushes of candelabra coral, groupers and conger, and past the Piedra de las Langostas, where up to ten spiny lobsters gather. Amberjack, dentex and tuna cross the open water over the rocks all the way. Two large rocks lean on each other and leave a tunnel a diver fits through easily; a conger of unusual size lives in a recess on its side, with a small group of corvina opposite. The dive finishes over a semicircle of smaller blocks behind the main wall, which serves for the decompression stop, and in a light westward current it ends as a drift round the boulder wall onto the western face of the cliffs.

Large blocks stand in a line parallel to the cliff like a rampart, some of them 15 metres tall, with smaller stones brought down by successive rockfalls packed into the gap behind. That architecture is the draw: a corridor to follow, a tunnel to pass under, and boulders that grow with depth and carry candelabra coral on their faces and orange coral on the walls. Anthias gather in clouds on the deeper rocks. Abandoned nets draped over the rocks, and over La 41 beyond, add the ghostly atmosphere behind the second name of the place.

EAN32 suits the main profile, and an operator briefing is where the drift direction and the pickup get fixed. Time at depth is short, about 10-12 minutes before decompression limits apply. La 41 is its own dive, deeper than this one, planned separately with the guide and never added to the end of it. Check the wind on the morning: force 4 is the practical ceiling and levante is the kinder direction. Lost line shows on some of the candelabra colonies, so keep fins and gear clear of them.