St Mary’s, Scilly Isles: A Dangerous Snorkelling Club Quick Guide

Pelistry Bay, St Mary's

If you were planning a snorkelling trip to the Mediterranean in 2016 then your choice of destinations are becoming rather limited. Greece is still struggling with the economic insanity that took hold way back in 2007 and now its islands, once the choice of tourists from all over Europe, have become the front line in the European migration crisis spilling out of Syria and Iraq. Hardly the destination for a relaxing break then. As for Italy, well it’s a great country, but it’s not renowned for its snorkelling, besides pasta gets boring very quickly. Then there is the Red Sea, a snorkeller's paradise if you like your water warm and tediously calm but, the Syrian conflict is causing even more chaos in the resorts of Egypt and Israel than it is in Greece. The same goes for Turkey, Morocco and Tunisia. So where to go? 

 

Flying to Scilly With SkyBus

Sub-tropical Scilly

Well, if you want pristine beaches, challenging snorkelling, good food and great beer then forget the Mediterranean and Red Sea this year and head west to one of Britain’s best kept secrets. The Scilly Isles are a sprinkling of verdant islands located some 28 miles Southwest of the Cornish coast. There are five inhabited islands in the Archipelago and a horde of smaller, uninhabited islands. Measuring a mere 2.5 square metres, St Mary’s is the central hub of the islands and home to the majority of the Scilly Isles residents. The main focal point is Hugh Town, which sits on an isthmus between two of the Islands beaches. Here you’ll find the Quay, shops, restaurants and four of the Islands five pubs. A short walk away you’ll find the smaller Old Town (the location of the fifth pub) and the Islands tiny airport. Above Hugh Town sits the Garrison, a castle and heavily fortified headland that formed one of Britain’s major defences during the 16^th century. The castle itself has been turned into one of the Isles most iconic hotels. With just 9 miles of road but over 30 miles of paths and trails, St Mary’s is a haven of peace and tranquility where you are more at risk of tripping over a birdwatcher crouching in the grass than being knocked off your bike by a car. We could wax lyrical for hours about the deserted beaches of white sand, the ancient archaeological sites, the stunning scenery, the history of the Islands flower trade, the weirdly wonderful characters who’ll drag you into the Scillonian club, buy you beer and insist that you meet their wife. Then there's the wildlife, the farmers who give you a cheery wave in the morning, the boatmen, who at a drop of a hat, will give you a lecture on the Islands Gig racing history, the tourists who’ve returned each and every year since 1970 and, without prompting, will give you a myriad tips on what to do and see and the bloke (who seems to work in every shop and pub on the island ) who’ll insist on giving you a daily briefing on the merits of each pubs burger, but this blog is mainly about the world beneath the waves so let’s get to the snorkelling.

Stuff Burgers! I'll Have The Fish

Does My Bum Look Big In This?

The best snorkelling on St Mary’s is on the remote eastern shore between Pelistry Bay and Bar Point. Here you’ll find forests of kelp, prairies of sea grass and rocky coves that provide a sanctuary to the diverse marine life. The main species you’ll spot are blennys, large wrasse, groupers and Pollock but you’ll often find a range of jellyfish from the fragile and harmless crystal jelly to the more dangerous mauve stinger. The rocks are covered with anemones and a range of colourful sponges and corals. If you’re lucky you might find yourself face to face with less common species of fish and even an inquisitive seal. A word of caution however, the Scilly Isles are located in the Atlantic and are subject to fast currents, large swells and rough water so be prepared. The water around the Islands is always on the cold side, even at the height of summer, so a full wetsuit is a necessity. Encasing yourself in neoprene is also your best defence against the appendages of the mauve stinger that can trail up to a metre or so behind the main body. There are other, more treacherous sites, around the Garrison and beyond Bar Point but these are suitable only for the more experienced and competent snorkeller. In the case of Bar Point, the water here is often murky and it is very easy to find yourself entangled in kelp. The main beaches of Hugh Town are singularly unsuitable for snorkelling due to the large flotillas of boats moving around and the water itself is bereft of any interesting sea life. If you tire of the waters around St Mary’s there are daily boat trips to the Islands of Tresco, Bryher and St Martin’s all of which offer a variety of snorkelling. For the less experienced snorkeller there are organised snorkel trips to St Martin’s where you can get up and close with the Isles seal population.

For the bubble blowers among you, the Scilly Isles offer more diving spots than you can shake a stick at. There are over twenty wrecks around St Mary’s alone. The deep waters around the Islands also attract basking sharks, porpoises and that most elusive of marine creatures, the sunfish.

 

Jewel Anenome

Mauve Stinger

The Spooky Kelp Forests

Emerging From The Cold

Getting Up Close

Small Fry

Can You See Me

Getting around the islands is easy. Being so small, the Islands snorkelling sites are easily reached by foot or you can rent a bike from Hugh Town. For a more leisurely transport option why not hire a golf cart from the Scilly Cart Company.  The Scilly Isles are easily reached by air from Exeter, Newquay and Land’s End Airports. Ferry services to St Mary’s operate daily from Penzance. So put the sunscreen away, pack the wetsuit and get going, you won’t regret it.  

Not Exactly Top Gear - But What A Laugh

For more information click the links below 

Scilly Tourist Board

The Scilly Steamship Company

Scilly Cart Company

In Search Of Those Elusive Trumpetfish

“Very rare.” Hardly ever seen.” These are the general responses we got when we asked the La Palma locals about the Atlantic Trumpetfish.  Responses that were almost universally accompanied by shakes of the head, shoulder shrugs and more statements like: “if you get real lucky you might see one in the early morning” or “They can change colour you know, blend in, and in these waters you could swim right by one and never know.”

Now, we know that the Atlantic Trumpetfish do exist. We’ve seen images of them on television, we’ve seen photographs of them on the Web and we had heard that La Palma and the Canary Islands in general, were a good place to see these odd fish. Now however, we were beginning to think that the Atlantic Trumpetfish was something out of an episode of the X-files. A strange mythological creature that an overexcited Mulder believes exists, yet simply can’t find the evidence to prove it to a pouting, doubtful, Scully. Undaunted by the locals insistence that we were more likely to spot a U.F.O than a Trumpetfish, we began to formulate a plan to catch the camera shy critters on film.

Ok Mulder, it's a naked girl doing weird things with a trumpet! But how does that prove anything?

The Atlantic Trumpetfish is a cylindrical shaped fish that can grow up to a metre long. Closely related to pipefish and seahorses, it uses its long snout like a vacuum cleaner, easily sucking in its prey of small fish and invertebrates. Some Trumpetfish in South Africa and the Caribbean have been observed using shadow-stalking behaviour to hunt, using their narrow profile to hide behind larger browsing feeders like Parrotfish and Surgeonfish, surprising unsuspecting prey who drift too close to the benign browser. The Trumpetfish’s notorious shyness and ability to blend in with their environment would, of course, present a significant problem to our goal as would the locals honest assessment of the Islands waters. Sitting in the Atlantic, and battered by the strong trade wins the coastal waters of La Palma are often dark, rough and murky. So in grey, wind-lashed seas famous for strong currents, we would be trying to spot a thin, agile fish that can blend effortlessly into the background and has a reputation for being shyer than mating pandas. A bit of a tall order you’ll agree. We decided that the best chances of seeing these fish would be to enter the water in the very early hours of the morning or late in the evening when the waters were bereft of splashing swimmers and small fishing boats with their chuttering motors.

 

Chinese Trumpetfish

Our sad effort to capture an Atlantic Trumpetfish - the buggers are fast

Did we succeed in our quest? You bet we did. The rough waters hampered filming considerably, as did the poor visibility. This was further compounded by the Trumpetfish’s irritating habit of disappearing between the rocks. Still we’re pretty pleased with the result, particularly as we came across three Trumpetfish gathered together near the breakwaters of Los Cancajos beach – though only for a few seconds. Check out the film below for the results of our labours. Trumpetfish do exist Scully, they do, we filmed them!

La Palma Island. A Dangerous Snorkelling Club Quick Guide

Roque De Los Muchachos Observatory

La Palma Island is situated in the North West of the Canarian Archipelago.  La Palma and its neighbours, La Gomera and El Hierro, are referred to as the lesser known canaries due to the fact that they have managed to avoid the excesses of mass tourism that affected Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote. One reason for this is that all three of these islands lack the fine glistening beaches of the more popular islands and the small number of actual tourists that visit each year, along with most of the locals, live in hope that such mainstream tourism never does reach the island’s volcanic shores.

Lacking mass tourist infrastructure, La Palma tends to attract the more adventurous visitor. In the summer months the island teems with walkers, hikers, snorkellers, freedivers and those of the scuba diving fraternity. During the off-season the island still attracts hikers and nature lovers but also large numbers of the more mature tourist head here looking for a little peace and quiet away from the noisy nightclubs, bar crawlers and the teenage sex and drugs crowd that plague the islands to the East. There are several tourist areas on the island but the main ones are around the area of Los Cancajos and the Capital, Santa Cruz Del La Palma. In all the main areas you’ll find a spattering of bars and restaurants and low-rise hotels. There are also two diving centres in Los Cancajos from where you can rent equipment and arrange boat trips to the major offshore diving areas.

In natural beauty terms, La Palma puts all the other islands of the Archipelago to shame. Rugged coastal regions with crashing waves, beaches of fine black volcanic sand, verdant forests, gushing waterfalls, mountain ranges and a lush subtropical climate, La Palma offers something for anyone with a little adventure in their spirit.

Los Cancajos beach

La Palma is also famous for two rather differing controversies. The first is all down to a certain raunchy pop singer, whilst the second concerns an all too familiar scientific warning of impending global disaster. Back in the 1980’s Madonna released her True Blue album, the sixth song of which was called La Isla Bonita. According to some, many of who seem to work at the La Palma tourist board, the song La Isla Bonita (the beautiful island in Spanish) refers to La Palma. Madonna is supposed to have stayed on the island at some time in the past – though this has never been confirmed. Others however are adamant that the song refers to the Island of San Pedro in Belize. Madonna is supposed to have dedicated the song to San Pedro for some reason that is never really explained. Interestingly Madonna has stated in Rolling Stone Magazine, that the San Pedro mentioned in the song is a fictional island and does not refer to either island and may in fact be a sign for the off ramp. This admission doesn’t seem to have had much effect though as both the locals of La Palma and the denizens of San Pedro still claim that the song refers to their respective island homes. The second controversy has all the makings of an episode of The Big Bang Theory where academic egos engage in a battle of hypotheses. The story goes that back in the 1990’s one group of scientific egos claimed that at some point in the future a large chunk of La Palma would collapse into the ocean creating a mega tsunami. A wall of water hundreds of metres tall would then spread out from the island, wreaking havoc on the African coast, devastating the eastern seaboard of the U.S. and washing all the dog crap off the streets of Paris. Yes, yes, we know. Nothing can be that strong that it can rid the streets of the French capital of all the accumulated dog mess, the aroma of which mixes with the stench of the River Seine to create that oh so romantic French atmosphere, and it wasn’t long before another bunch of scientific egos proved it as well. The second bunch of egos pointing out that the first bunch of egos were being egotistical and unscientific unlike them who were being humble and scientific – Leonard and Sheldon, eat your heart out.

Watching me watching you

The island is littered with little coves and beaches; some very difficult to get to, where the more adventurous snorkellers among you can sate your appetite for the underwater world. However the four best areas, in our opinion, are in Los Cancajos, Charco Verde and the beaches of Playa Del Hoyo and Playa La Martina. Given that La Palma is situated in the Atlantic all of the beaches are at times subject to strong waves, winds and currents that make conditions unsuitable for even the most experienced snorkeller. That said, of all the four sites we recommend, Los Cancajos is by far the safest.

Sandwiched between the airport and the capital, Santa Cruz Del La Palma, the beach of Los Cancajos is in fact a series of little interconnected beaches and coves rather than a single beach. Protected by an artificial breakwater, Los Cancajos boasts an array of underwater tunnels, reefs and rock walls that will delight freedivers as well as shallow pools and rock formations closer to the beach that attract enough marine life to interest the less experienced snorkellers. The more daring among you might prefer to try out the delights of Charco Verde. Located a short drive from Puerto Naos on the western side of the island, Charco Verde is a wide cove of fine volcanic sand with rocky headlands on either side. The water can be considerably rougher than at Los Cancajos and visibility is often compromised at the best of times. The beach is also subject to rip currents that make entering and exiting the water here particularly problematic. That said, Charco Verde has a great deal to offer including canyons, strange volcanic formations and large shoals of fish loitering beneath overhangs and in between the volcanic fissures. If you like your water even rougher and the feel of pebble rather than sand beneath your feet, then the beaches of Playa Del Hoyo and Playa La Martina might be for you. Both sites are located on the eastern side of the island and are a short drive south of the airport. The beaches are reached by a narrow dirt track that can play havoc with the underside of your rental car and it might be worth parking up on the main road and taking a stroll down to the beach. A word of warning here too, both of these beaches offer rough water snorkelling at its very best and are not for the feint-hearted, if you are inexperienced or unfit you will undoubtedly get into difficulty here and should stick to less demanding sites such as Los Cancajos or the man made (though rather boring) rock pools at Los Sauces in the north. For those of you who have the experience and physical fitness however, Playa Del Hoyo and Playa La Martina with their tunnels, caves, gulleys and rocky fissures will not disappoint. All four sites teem with fish. Charco Verde and Los Cancajos in particular are home to shoals of sardines, bream, trumpet fish, damselfish, parrotfish and a good many more. One final note; the water temperature in La Palma never gets above around 24 degrees even at the height of summer and can fall below 15 degrees in the winter months so a wetsuit is highly recommended.

One of the breakwaters at Los Cancajos

When not snorkelling, La Palma still has a lot to offer. A visit to the astrophysics observatory at Roque De Los Muchachos is not to be missed. The phenomenal clarity of the air in La Palma means that astronomers, physicists and other scientific folk flock to La Palma to make use of the plethora of telescopes that dot the mountain ridges. At certain times you can even take a guided tour of the installations. Once you’ve finished peering into the sky you can take a lung-challenging hike around the caldera of Taburiente or get lost in the national park with its waterfalls, forests and winding tracks. If you’re not exhausted by all that, you can take a trip to the volcano centre at San Antonio, learn about all things grapey at the Las Manchos wine museum or visit the salt flats at Fuencaliente and then there are lighthouses to see, shops to peruse in Santa Cruz, or you could book a day trip to one of the other islands in the Archipelago.

Observatory above the clouds

Once you have had your fill of sea, nature and culture it’s time to get your fill of food and beer. Here though things get a bit tricky. Although there are a great many restaurants and cafes to choose from, the majority are not exactly culinary Meccas. The best two restaurants we found were El Lagar and Thai Las Olas, both in the Los Cancajos area. El Lagar is located in a shopping arcade but don’t let that put you off. El Lagar is typically Canarian in décor and ambience, the service is attentive but discreet and although the menu is small this should be seen as a good thing. Restaurants that try to be all things to all men with menus the size of encyclopaedias tend to be jack-of-all-trades and masters of none which means your dinner is probably going to be rubbish. El Lagar keeps things simple but that simplicity is very well done indeed. Try the tapas plate for a varied taste of the islands culinary offerings, after that we recommend the pork tenderloin or one of the fresh fish dishes that are on offer.

Err,, That'll be cactus then!

For a change to the Spanish offerings head off to the Hotel Las Olas and its Thai restaurant. Having a Japanese member in the club and living in London (the capital city of the world with every national cuisine you can think of readily available) we consider ourselves to be experts in Asian cooking and normally the thought of visiting a Thai, Indian or Chinese restaurant in a tourist area of a small island would fill us with dread. Thai Las Olas however, was a pleasant surprise. There were exceptions though, the Chicken Pad Thai has tomato ketchup as sauce and the Thai curry was nowhere near spicy enough for our tastes. The beef salad though was as good as any we have tasted and the weeping tiger steak was spicy enough to do as its name suggests and bring a tear to the eye. The noodle dishes are particularly good and the spring rolls (something most Thai restaurants fall down on) were second to none. Once stuffed to bursting we went to look for a bar and here, like most Greek and Spanish islands, we were left very disappointed. There are places to sate the thirst but most are attached to restaurants and all seem to have no idea how to store, pour or serve beer. Still the beer was cold if not much else and we can handle this small disappointment as La Palma hits the mark on so many other things.

You can fly direct to La Palma all year round from Madrid and in the summer season flights are available from London, Berlin and other European cities. In the winter months there are flight connections via Tenerife. There are also ferry connections from Tenerife and Gran Canaria. A word of warning though, if you are flying British Airways or Iberia Express or combinations of the two, take note that both airlines are notorious for being late and for mislaying your luggage on route. Read about our own experience here.

Skiathos Island

A Dangerous Snorkelling Club Quick Guide

Skiathos has a mixed reputation. For some its myriad beaches, bustling capital and good transport links make it the destination of choice for bit of summer sun. For others its myriad beaches, bustling capital and good transport links means it’s full of tourists and therefore best avoided. However it has been rated as one of the best snorkelling destinations in Europe. So we decided to brave the hordes of package holidaymakers and see for ourselves.

 

Dangerous Snorkelling Weather

The History Bit 

Since ancient times the islands strategic position always drew unwanted attention. The first settlers were Ionians followed in turn by Athenians, Macedonians and the inevitable Romans. It became a Turkish possession in around 1539 eventually winning freedom in 1829. Skiathos is the birthplace of two of Greece’s most famous novelists; Alexandros Moraitidis and Alexandros Papadiamantis. That’s all we could find out about the place, so unlike other islands it is a little bereft of historical interest.

The Snorkelling Bit

There are some things that the modern Greeks don’t seem to understand such as taxes. For the visitor however, a more important lapse in their understanding is the idea of tarmac. The roads in many Greek islands leave much to be desired but in Skiathos they reach new heights of car damaging roughness, in fact it appears that no road maintenance has been carried out since the Romans marched around the place.

This means that getting to the best snorkelling beaches in the north of the island can be an adventure in itself. The two best beaches we found were Megali Auselinos and Mikri Auselinos. Both are reached via a bumpy, suspension-wrecking dirt track. At Mikri Auselinos however, you also need to navigate your way down a steep, ankle-twisting path before you reach the welcoming soft sand. We arrived at 7:30 in the morning at both sites, a good hour before the bewildered beach bar owners and three full hours before another tourist arrived. On either beach you should take a short swim around the headlands on either side to find the rocky seabed where the most interesting marine life hang out. Look out for Jellyfish, fireworms and small shoals of needlefish. To the right of Mikri Auselinos there is small beach nestling below a steep cliff face, which makes it unreachable from the landside and so utterly deserted. We spent three full days here just Snorkelling around in perfect solitude. Another option is to hire a boat from Troulos beach on the southern side of the island and head for the myriad uninhabited islands to the South East. However just as Greek Ferries don’t run when the wind blows from the wrong direction, the merest hint of poor weather, such as a cloud, and the boat hire company will decline your business on the grounds that having survived the drive down to the beach, your luck must surely run out some time and you and their boat will never be seen again. The island boasts many other beaches including Meghas Ghialos, which is a spear fishing and diving hotspot, we however found the other beaches, including Meghas Ghialos, were too crowded and lacking in the marine interest of the Northern Beaches. A word of warning; the north coast can be very windy and the sea quite rough. These are the type of conditions we look for, but, if you are interested in more sedate snorkelling, ensure that the wind is blowing from the south to guarantee the conditions are more suitable.

Common Fried Egg Jellyfish

The Tourist Blurb

Beaches, beaches, beaches. If your idea of a holiday is lounging about on sun drenched beaches, cocktail in hand, then Skiathos has much to offer. The beaches on the south coast have long stretches of golden sound and boast a variety of water sports. Should a glance in the mirror reveal a cooked lobster glow and you decide that a day off the beach is called for then a trip to the capital of Skiathos town is a good alternative. Skiathos Town has the usual array of tourist “boutiques”, shops, cafes and tourist trap amenities but a wander around the narrow streets and port is an interesting experience. Those of you with more cultural interests will however be disappointed. Yes Skiathos has churches and a 12^th century fortress but these don’t really have the appeal that other islands historic sites have and there is the overwhelming sense that the island has waved a dismissive hand towards the highbrow in favour of lowest common denominator tourism. That said though, as a snorkelling destination, Skiathos is well worth its rating as one of the best in Europe. The more adventurous types among you, those who are prepared to rise early and brave the cold morning sea should encounter a surprising variety of marine life that more than makes up for the islands other shortcomings, except of course the bloody roads!

The Path to Mikri Auselinos

The Tourist Q & A

Which is the best restaurant?

There are a great many restaurants and tavernas on the island and like all Greek islands they pretty much serve the same fayre. From the tourist chatter we heard, the two most highly regarded were the Windmill Restaurant in Skiathos Town and Salt & Pepper in Troulos. Both require you to make a reservation…. No Kidding! We were unable to get one at the Windmill but did manage to eat twice at Salt & Pepper. Salt & Pepper calls itself a garden restaurant, which means you are seated near grass! The food was nothing exceptional but clearly of higher quality than you would normally expect from the islands. The price wasn’t too bad either, if you have ever had a meal in London or New York the cost of a meal for four with wine won’t bring tears to your eyes – if you haven’t dined outside Scunthorpe before, you’re probably going to need oxygen. Apparently, and this is purely what the waiter told us, a number of major celebrities are often to be seen dining here, though he didn’t elaborate on who exactly, nor on how he defines “major” or “celebrity for that matter

Are there any good bars?

That depends on what you define as a bar. Skiathos Town suffers from that evil affliction of the lounge bar so we obviously refused to spend anytime in those. In Troulos there is the Christiakis Sports Bar which labels itself as the only bar in Skiathos that has BBC, ITV and Sky Sports. That of course means it has a lot of Televisions showing repeats of live matches and lots of Brits looking for a home-from-home experience. The majority of the bars, including Christiakis, are part of hotel set-ups the rest and there are many, are your average Taverna affair. All are okay for a few hours of Après-snorkel drinking but none of them are exceptional.

The Other Stuff

Wasps! The island, particularly the South, is infested with the infamous Skiathos wasp. These are not your usual, Irritating, picnic-wrecking insects. The Skiathos wasp is a particularly persistent little bugger. Every beach, especially around mid morning, echoes to sound of infuriated sunbathers cursing loudly whilst furiously waving towels, sandals and hats around in a futile attempt to get rid of the little blighters. Note: waving things in the air does not make the wasps go away; it just makes them angry! The only thing that we found that works was cigarette smoke. That of course is not an option if you don’t smoke or have someone in your group who does and more importantly, is prepared to go through fifty a day to keep the air clear of the striped pests. If this is the case your only option is to head for the water. A sting from these sods is painful but no more so than your average wasp, it’s just that by the third sting the pain seems to merge into one day-wrecking throb.

The Skiathos Cat

Not particularly part of the guide, but Skiathos also has an infestation of feral cats. Some are mangy, one-eyed, flea bitten wretches whilst others are impossible not to fall head-over-heels in love with. So let us introduce you to the cat we adopted for ten, leg-scratching, days. Ladies and Gentlemen we give you Psycho the Cat in usual contented pose. 

The Statistical Stuff

Population: 4000+

Area: 48 Sq. Km.

How to get there: Charter flights from major European airports operate during the summer months. Schedule flights operate year round from Athens; Ferry links operate from all major islands in the region.