Scuba diving and snorkelling off Playa Higuerica in Águilas

A visit to the islet of Cama de los Novios is a fair distance but well worth the effort!

About 200 metres from the beach of Playa Higuerica in the Cuatro Calas area of the Águilas coastline, an unspoilt stretch of coastline which extends to the boundary with the province of Almería and beyond, is the tiny islet known as Cama de los Novios, an attractive destination for those enjoying a little snorkelling or diving in the south-west of the Costa Cálida.

Although it might seems to some a fair way from the shore, the swim to the islet is an easy one in calm sea conditions, with the seabed consisting almost entirely of sand and seagrass rather than rocks. Once at the island, though, the rocks are home to a variety of colourful fish and the little crags of the island are full of life, making this a great little excursion out to sea!

When you reach the island you’ll find an irregular platform of rock, along the sides of which you will probably see dreamfish (Sarpa salpa), white seabream and saddled seabream, and in the shallow water of about 2 metres are colourful species of seaweed containing rainbow wrasse, cuckoo wrasse and alfonsinos. On the seaward side the rock face is practically vertical, while on the landward side the slope is far more gentle.

Some of the small cavities in the rock are also home to octopus, and their location can often be guessed at due to the presence of shells from the molluscs they consume!

And then, it’s time for the swim back to the shore.

A word of warning: keep a careful lookout for people on boats who may not notice you in the water at first!

For more local events, news and visiting information, contact the tourist office of Águilas (telephone 968 493285) or go to the home page of Águilas Today.