El Bajon

El Bajon is the Canaries' most famous single dive: a saddle-backed volcanic pinnacle off La Restinga whose twin peaks climb from deep blue to near-snorkel depth. The rock is ringed by life that reserve protection has let grow old: dusky groupers of real size, island groupers, thick schools of amberjack and barracuda wheeling off the towers, morays in every crack. In the warm months something bigger often passes: mobulas, tuna, occasionally a whale shark. Water clarity in the Mar de las Calmas routinely embarrasses the rest of Europe.

اللحظة التي جئت من أجلها: Twin towers in blue water, large groupers, summer pelagic fly-bys

التضاريس: Twin volcanic towers rising from deep water to within about 8 m of the surface

التيار: An open-water pinnacle: current can pick up mid-dive and dives are planned around it.

نقطة الدخول: Short boat ride from La Restinga, El Hierro, inside the Mar de las Calmas marine reserve; dived when current allows.

المخاطر: Current and open-water exposure; the summit tempts divers upward while the walls tempt them past plan depth.

التصاريح والقواعد: Daily boat and diver management applies within the reserve: book through local operators.

الحفاظ على البيئة البحرية: Inside the Mar de las Calmas reserve; diving runs through authorized La Restinga centers under reserve rules.

نيتروكس: يستحق الأمر هنا: الملفات الشخصية تقع في النطاق الذي يُمدّد فيه الهواء المدعّم (نيتروكس) وقت الغوص دون توقف تمديدًا ملموسًا، مع التدريب اللازم لاستخدامه.