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Cabrera is only about a 20 minute drive from the sea, with Mojacar and Garrucha being the nearest points. A little further down the coast there is the Cabo de Gata Natural Park, a superb stretch of coastline, which also includes Europe's only marine nature park.
I am neither a scuba diver nor a fisherman, so I'm hardly qualified to comment on the life that lurks below the surface. However I do sail frequently on the waters near Mojácar and Garrucha so I know a little bit about the marine life that pokes its nose above the surface.
Probably the most spectacular sight that we have seen was a school of dolphins making their way down the coast, just a couple of hundred metres off the beach. They were passing both sides of our boat. No amount of television programmes or captive animals can prepare you for the sight of a wild dolphin up-close. They are big, fast, elegant and they exhibit a joie-de-vivre that is inspiring. The dolphins pass down along the coast each year during their migration.
Even bigger mammals have been seen along our piece of coast. Pilot whales have been seen just a few kilometres off shore. Each animal was bigger than the boat that they were seen from, which made for a pretty awe-inspiring sight. Sadly, we have also had a few whales washed up onto the beaches, and even more sadly none has survived. It's believed that they had been disorientated by submarines operating sonar in the vicinity.
At the opposite scale of size, flying fish are common in the area, and we see them most weeks when we sail. They are about the size of a sardine but with huge fins that they use as wings. They use their flying capability to elude predators below the surface, and they are capable of flying a few inches off the water for a distance of 20 or 30 metres. A group flying together is really spectacular.
Other occasional leapers-out-of-the-water are swordfish. When they are a metre long, that too is a sight to behold. And their smaller cousins (garfish, I believe) are able to drive themselves along the surface on their tails. They are able to cover a distance of 10 or 15 metres this way, though always looking as if it is a huge effort, unlike the easy grace of the flying fish.
Finally, we often see a fish that seems rarely to get a mention; it's some sort of ray, perhaps a skate. When we first saw one from a distance we thought it might be a seal, a dolphin or even a shark, as we saw a single black fin flop lazily out of the water. Only after a few close passes were we able to see that this is a fish that likes sun-bathing! It's shaped something like a stealth bomber; as wide as it is long with its head protruding above the main line of its body. They are not much fazed by a small sailing boat passing by, maybe just slowly moving off if they think we're getting too close. Being nearly a metre long (and wide!) its a fish that makes an impression, particularly as there is often an unpleasant fishy smell hanging in its vicinity.
We will welcome contributions from divers, snorkellers and fishermen (or even just knowledgeable naturalists) to give more information about the fish and other life to be found in the sea near Cabrera.
I am neither a scuba diver nor a fisherman, so I'm hardly qualified to comment on the life that lurks below the surface. However I do sail frequently on the waters near Mojácar and Garrucha so I know a little bit about the marine life that pokes its nose above the surface.
Probably the most spectacular sight that we have seen was a school of dolphins making their way down the coast, just a couple of hundred metres off the beach. They were passing both sides of our boat. No amount of television programmes or captive animals can prepare you for the sight of a wild dolphin up-close. They are big, fast, elegant and they exhibit a joie-de-vivre that is inspiring. The dolphins pass down along the coast each year during their migration.
Even bigger mammals have been seen along our piece of coast. Pilot whales have been seen just a few kilometres off shore. Each animal was bigger than the boat that they were seen from, which made for a pretty awe-inspiring sight. Sadly, we have also had a few whales washed up onto the beaches, and even more sadly none has survived. It's believed that they had been disorientated by submarines operating sonar in the vicinity.
At the opposite scale of size, flying fish are common in the area, and we see them most weeks when we sail. They are about the size of a sardine but with huge fins that they use as wings. They use their flying capability to elude predators below the surface, and they are capable of flying a few inches off the water for a distance of 20 or 30 metres. A group flying together is really spectacular.
Other occasional leapers-out-of-the-water are swordfish. When they are a metre long, that too is a sight to behold. And their smaller cousins (garfish, I believe) are able to drive themselves along the surface on their tails. They are able to cover a distance of 10 or 15 metres this way, though always looking as if it is a huge effort, unlike the easy grace of the flying fish.
Finally, we often see a fish that seems rarely to get a mention; it's some sort of ray, perhaps a skate. When we first saw one from a distance we thought it might be a seal, a dolphin or even a shark, as we saw a single black fin flop lazily out of the water. Only after a few close passes were we able to see that this is a fish that likes sun-bathing! It's shaped something like a stealth bomber; as wide as it is long with its head protruding above the main line of its body. They are not much fazed by a small sailing boat passing by, maybe just slowly moving off if they think we're getting too close. Being nearly a metre long (and wide!) its a fish that makes an impression, particularly as there is often an unpleasant fishy smell hanging in its vicinity.
We will welcome contributions from divers, snorkellers and fishermen (or even just knowledgeable naturalists) to give more information about the fish and other life to be found in the sea near Cabrera.
Marine Life near Cabrera
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