Another one-day scuba diving trip, this time in Kostrena, Croatia. I actually did my OWD course here in September 2021. However, this was the first time I was back here. And now I am an SSI divemaster. How quickly time flies.
The weather was nice, hot and sunny, luckily at depth, the water temperature dropped so it was a bit more comfortable.
I did 2 dives, each 1 hour long with a maximum depth of 36 and 34 meters.
There is quite a lot to see in Kostrena and I was surprised in a very positive way. Now for the important part.
The pictures
First was a large lobster (Homarus gammarus). I estimate it was on the larger end of the spectrum, at least 40 cm. I guess I seemed interesting to him as he started crawling out of his hole and posing for a picture. It really was a spectacular sight.
I also saw the most amount of octopuses on a single dive, which is three. All of them were a common octopus (Octopus vulgaris). They were a bit shy as expected but they are always a nice sight. Once you figure out what to look for, you have a good chance of spotting one.
On both dives, I saw plenty of scorpionfish. This was a rather large one, at about 40 cm. The picture is of a red scorpionfish (Scorpaena scrofa) but you also commonly see its smaller cousins, the black scorpionfish (Scorpaena porcus) and the small red scorpionfish (Scorpaena notata).
At this point, I would like to mention the common dentex (Dentex dentex). I had a chance to see a larger one, about 50 cm in length, which should put it in the middle of the spectrum. Unfortunately, I didn’t manage to get a good picture.
Next up is a scarlet or pig-tooth coral (Balanophyllia europaea). I often see them but normally I just swim along. This time I decided to take a few pictures during my safety stop.
I am always fascinated by the golden anemone (Condylactis aurantiaca). Their purple tentacle tips just stand out from the sandy bottom.
Below are two examples of tube worms. I am not entirely sure which species but I would guess that the first one is a Protula intestinum and the second one a Bispira volutacornis.
And the most colorful for the end, the nudibranchs of course.
First, we have the dotted sea slug (Peltodoris atromaculata), Flabellina ischitana and Flabellina affinis.
Lastly, a few pictures of Elysia timida. I saw it as I was going out of the water, after my safety stop, and had to take a few pictures. They are quite small. The one in the pictures was about 10 mm in length so less than my fingernail.
Conclusion
I did two really nice dives in Kostrena. There was plenty of life in addition to the ones I mentioned and took pictures of. I am sure I will visit again, hopefully, it won’t take me 2 years again.