Yesterday I was introduced to yet another of Ibiza’s stunning underwater geological features. This one was called the Cathedral, and the name was truly apt.
This photo, courtesy of Aquadiving Center Ibiza, was taken of me by a scuba diver from inside the ‘cave’. I was at the entrance having a little look inside but without an underwater dive light, I couldn’t see much.
We were told that we should dive down to the entrance, and continue swimming into the tunnel for about 10 metres. Once inside the darkness of the cave, we should look upwards, where we would begin to see a ‘mirror’ effect of the surface of the water inside the Cathedral. Swimming up, we would surface in an air space ventilated by perforations higher up in the rock face.
It was quite a leap of faith, I can tell you.
I knew this air-pocket was there. I was told it was there. But swimming into a dark underwater tunnel on breath-hold, wondering how much further you need to go, and if you didn’t find the air space, would you have enough air to make it back out again… It fair to say a little glimmer of doubt can enter your mind.
And then you’re there… Suddenly above water, but inside a vast rock dome which really does resemble a Cathedral. And from above the surface, you can see the turquoise light streaming through through the crystal clear water from the mouth of the cave, which is the only source of natural light inside.
It was magical.
But there was more. Inside the Cathedral, the is a ‘Chapel’. To enter it, you have to take breath and dive down into a(nother dark) tunnel – this one much narrower, wide enough for one person – and swim cautiously up into another much smaller chamber.
With only one torch between us, our fantastic guide Marcos Verduras, took each of us in one by one, until we were all sitting in the chapel.
This is the GoPro video I took of the way out of the Cathedral. Without a strobe I wasn’t able to film the inside of the cave because there wasn’t enough natural light…. so you’ll just have to come and see it for yourself!