Dos Amigos Grande

The larger of the two friends - a pair of rock islets off Cocos's southwest corner - carries the island's most photogenic piece of architecture: a broad arch punched through the pinnacle at about 20 m, big enough to frame a diver, a shark, or on charmed days both. Hammerheads round the outside in the current while whitetips carpet the ledges, and marbled rays hold on the rubble below the arch like parked aircraft. The exposure is real; when swell wraps the corner the surge through the archway commands respect. Divers work the down-current side, shoot the arch against the blue, and finish drifting off the rock.

اللحظة التي جئت من أجلها: The 20 m archway, hammerheads on the outside edge, marbled rays in the rubble

التضاريس: Steep rock with a large natural archway around 20 m

المخاطر: Surge through the arch, current at the corners, blue-water pickups.

نيتروكس: يستحق هنا — تقع البروفايلات في النطاق الذي يمدّد فيه النيتروكس وقت التوقف اللاإلزامي بشكل ملموس (بشرط امتلاك التدريب اللازم لاستخدامه).