Subaquatic Treasures while Diving

As the national capital of diving, Puerto Madryn presents many good places for the practice of this sport. Quiet, crystal-clear waters and a varied fauna characterize the various sites, accessible from the shore or by means of guided excursions. These incredible underwater environments may be visited in the company of expert instructors, the necessary equipment and the basic knowledge to dive. There are various options. Some of them, real treasures to explore the bottom and discover the sea flora and fauna. The Parque Artificial Submarino was formed in 1963, when six urban buses from the City of Buenos Aires were deliberately sank to a depth of more than 30 meters. As time went by, the sea fauna adopted the chassis as a shelter. The Parque Nuevo (New Park) is located 400m from the shore, where boat or shore diving can be practiced. This artificial park has several bodyworks, a boiler, the structure of a small shipwreck and some sloops that act as caves for the fish. This is the classical place for submarine baptisms, where the platforms are located during most of the year. Another proposal is constituted by the Piedras and Piedras Grandes natural reefs, located 400m from the Almirante Storni Pier, where there are small caves with a high presence of algae. With the high tide, the maximum depth reaches 11m and, when the tide receeds, it ranges between 3.5 and 4m. The Río de Oro shipwreck is another ideal site for diving. The 25-meter-long wooden schooner sank more than 60 years ago and is located 400m from the Piedra Buena Pier, resting on a muddy bottom. For such reason, the capability to float is extremely important so as not to diminish visibility.

The Parque Viejo (Old Park) was organized around the shipwreck of the Emma vessel, used by Sir Ernest Shakleton in the early 1900 for an expedition to Antarctica. The local scuba diving pioneers have added buses, cars and boilers to these remains. A boat diving excursion to the Albatros shipwreck and to the Madryn Chest is available for advanced sportsmen. The first proposal is a 30-meter-long fishing boat which was sank in September, 1998 with the purpose of creating a new site for this practice. The second site is very special. It is a trunk settled at 30m of depth on December 30th, 1999. The “chest” contains the messages from the Puerto Madryn community for the generation of the year 2100. There is also a plastic book for visitors to sign. Furthermore, divers can leave their testimony in a box for the next diver to come down and repeat the rite. For beginners, the Punta Cuevas bar, located 200m from the beach, has a natural rocky formation with a great variety of animal life. The Punta Este shores may be accessed by boat or from the shore. This place presents caves, small caverns and tidal marshes. The best option is to descend with the high tides because its maximum depth is 8m and the minimum is 3. The off-shore version of Punta Este is reached by boat. This is a natural shallow rocky sandbar made up by a plateau located about 2,000m from the shore. It has a maximum depth of 12m. For good swimmers, the Foliax shipwreck lies only 500m away. This ship ran aground on the shore after a fire on board. It is advisable to visit it when the tides are high and it is possible to watch turcos, escrófalos, groupers, viejas de mar and starfish, as well as a great variety of polyps which fill the place with the most wonderful colors. In addition to these experiences, there are also night diving excursions, deep diving, courses for various levels and special excursions for divers holding a licence.