Scuba diving at Punta della Focacciola

This easy dive can offer us some real surprises. We can comfortably circle around the reef, as its depth never exceeds -20/25 meters.

Its walls are characterized by continuous crevices and passages, home to octopuses, and from which the heads of beautiful moray eels and congers often protrude. Many times, on the western part of the reef, it’s easy to encounter some nice grouper and countless shoals of mullets feeding on the algae that cover the seabed.

Sea breams, breams, and damselfish will always be around us, and we’ll also encounter nudibranchs, feather dusters, and sea anemones.

Returning towards the boat, on the eastern side of the reef, we find a wide stretch of detrital sand that separates the reef from the Gemini Islands. Here, the monument to "JAQUES MAYOL" had been placed.

The famous French free diver, who died in 2001 in his home in Capoliveri, had chosen Elba as his residence, and it was in this sea that he loved so much that, back in 1976, he became the first man to descend in free dive to -100 meters.

Returning towards the reef wall, at its base around -10 meters, we will find the entrance to a cave that penetrates the rock for a few meters. The ceiling and walls are covered with false corals, sea daisies, and sponges. In the darker parts, it’s possible to spot some beautiful magnosa (sea cicada).

Two tunnels allow us, with a bit of attention, to exit almost at the top of the reef.

Images courtesy of Riccardo Buralli - Diving in Elba