DIVE THE AZORES
info@divetheazores.com
I think that the Manta is one of the main fish of our Oceans which is in the making of a dream, to dive with these beautiful creatures is a dream come true. With Martin Clunes and his “Man to Manta” documentary has brought these amazing creatures back into the headlines and revitalised our dream. Andrea Marshall “The Queen of Mantas” delivered her talk at Dive 2011 “A Ray of Hope” which inspired a great number to divers to live their dream and dive with these gracious fish. We see the great locations for these manta encounters Maldives, Fiji, Thailand, and Mozambique which soon awakens us from our dream. Only if there was somewhere nearer and more cost effective would the dream be more of a reality to the majority of us
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Martin Clunes "man to manta"
The Azores is a group of nine Islands out in the Mid-Atlantic belonging to Portugal, sat on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which created the longest mountain range in the world, albeit underwater, making the Atlantic home to some of the largest sea mountains in the world. One mountain which stands out from the rest is Princess Alice Bank or Banco Princesa Alice as it is called in Portuguese, is a submerged seamount that is located 48 nautical miles (92.6 km) to the southwest of Pico Island The bank has a minimum depth of 35 m from the surface and a bottom depth of 2993m. With clear waters that allow the observation of the ocean floor from the surface and an enormous biodiversity, the bank, in addition to being an excellent fishing spot, is one of the impressive diving spots in the Atlantic Ocean.
The bank creates perfect conditions for the Devil Rays “Mobula tarapacana” and although the specie of Manta is different from the ones that can be found in famous places like Yap, Maldives or Socorro islands (Manta birostris) it is a dive that can easily be matched with these destinations to observe these gentle giants, it’s not an unusual sight to have more than 20 mantas performing in a carousel. Diving in the “Blue” will also give you the opportunity to see Tuna, Barracuda and Wahoo.
Twin Peaks diving centre based on Pico took its name from the 2 highest peaks on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Princess Alice Bank and Mount Pico a volcano of 2351m giving Pico Island its name and also its magnificent scenery. Twin Peaks and her UK company Dive the Azores offers fantastic diving packages enabling you to “Live your dream” with daily flights from Lisbon to Pico and Horta getting there could not be simpler. TAP the Portuguese Airline fly from most major airports via Lisbon, flights are reasonable and regular with flights into Horta (Faial) our neighboring island or direct into Pico. There are numerous activities for the non-diver with Whale Watching, Swim with the dolphins and fantastic walks to name a few, makes Pico an ideal family holiday also so please feel free to have a look around our web site and make that dream a “reality”
don't just dive it,explore it.
making a dream a reality
Photographs copyrighted to Elaine White Photography
