GETAWAY: Diving in corsican water

The nature reserves are part of those amazing places that host some of the most diverse marine flora and fauna staying close to the beach and to the coast. Even if often it is impossible to dive in, their surroundings are equally accessible and rich. To the north of Calvi, plunging in the rocky canyons of Punta Revellata is like watching an underwater ballet of groupers, lobsters, damselfish or barracudas.

A few miles to the south of the reserve of Scandola, sites like Punta Rossa in the Gulf of Girolata or Capo Rosso, closer to Porto, are now famous. If the reserve, accessible only by sea, is home to some monk seals and dolphins, these sites take on board the sub to explore the red or yellow gorgonians, morays and snappers. Purple, violet, yellow and green are mixed within the Cathédrales of the Gulf of Valinco. In these immense rocky ascents of nearly 40 meters, gather sea squirts, gorgonias, wrasses, diplodus and many others.

Completely to the south of the island, the International Marine Park of the Strait of Bonifacio has without a doubt the most beautiful ocean floor. This area of ​​80,000 hectares that separates France from Italy, includes for example the Lavezzi Islands, the archipelago of the Cerbicali Islands and the Tre Padule de Suartone. Here, the immersion is an enchanted walk in search of the groupers of Mérouville and the barracudas of Tête d'Homme.

Finally, wrecks and caves cannot be neglected. Sites such as the B17 Bomber wreck of Calvi, the vessel Saint-Mathieu of Girolata or the Caves of Ajaccio, offer a breathtaking spectacle.

Diving into the Corsican depths is an experience hard to forget and deserves to be immortalized. The 41st edition of the World Festival of the Underwater Pictures invites those who wish to compare their photographs or their movies to join the event.

Info: FMISM, from 30th October to 2nd November - Palais des Congrès Parc Chanot - Marseille - Registration until September 15th - www.underwater-festival.com.

Translated by Dafne Inzaina – Meretdemeures.com (September 2014).