Another hopeful attempt at Diving: update- Success!

After our last dispiriting experience of finding a good diving place, we opted this time to use the tools Greeks have used for centuries... friends of friends. So we contacted our 'lo-ong time living on Corfu' friend and he contacted his Greek friend and so now we think we have found a good divemaster.

[Picture to the right of man standing is divemaster from hell- avoid him.]

Plus, I believe I now know what may have happened to make for the "world's worst and longest day doing nothing with a short late and disappointing diving experience".

In the Rough Guide to Corfu and the Ionian Islands (1997), there is an interesting entry on Nissaki: "Nissaki is more a vague area than a place: three excellent pebble beaches, one dominated by the gigantic and rather soulless Nissaki Beach Hotel... " (aka Krouzeri Beach) blah-blah-blah... and slight referral to the other two, the last being Kaminaki Beach. It was one of of course the "original" Nissaki beach, that now has a brand new diving "school" where of course we went, and so that must have been how we were suckered into our mistake. No mention of course was made that there is ANOTHER diving school that meets at A Nissaki beach. (hahhahahhaha, joke's on us! so amusing. not.)

Anyway, Costas will pick up Benoit from the beach in front of the Nissaki Beach Hotel (which is "close" to the other beach by about 2 miles???) it is actually named "Krouzeri Beach" tho it's part of the area of Nissaki. From there, they will go to a different dive site (as Costas is familiar with the other "divemaster" and where he takes his people...)

More to follow on this post!

~~~

And they return! Needless to say, there actually IS good diving on Corfu. Mr Costas Revis established his business in 1977 and knows what he's doing.

The Waterhoppers Diving Centre is the place to count on. The safety levels are high, the number of instructors is more than adequete and they do what they say they're going to do - ON TIME and with a smile. They have a wide variety of types of dives and they can arrange something for whatever skill level you need. The centre is PADI, ANDI, CMAS and NITROX - TRIMAX certified.

But most of all ... a good time was had by all! Benoit went down 40 meters and saw a great wreck with lots of soft coral and little beasties around it. He was most pleased. (and T said that the whole deal was 5 euro cheaper than the "divemaster from hell".)

[Costas is the guy in the center -hard to make out- he's driving the boat.]

The trick is to drive the curvy road and when you see the sign for the Nisaki Beach Hotel (which appears suddenly after a lot of curvy road and then sort of seems to go down the side of a very steep "cliff") It's THAT Nissaki Beach.

There's also a very nice and shady taverna for those 'who sit and wait'...

For others interested, there are dive boats that will pick you up in Ipsos as well as a completely other location of the company in Paleocastritsa to see the cave diving on that side of the island.

Tonite we're going to my favorite restaurant- Christa's Creperie. More tomorrow!