*** A journey of life and death***
*** Meet one of our oldest ancestors in the animal kingdom***
Dear friend
 If you have been travelling around the Greek islands you must have come across a Kalymnian fishing boat. They have a reputation of being fearless seamen and are known to travel like "sea nomads" all over the Med, diving for the valuable sponge.
Kalymnos, a small island in the Northeast Aegean, is known as the island of the sponge divers. I've always been very intrigued by their profession and risky way of life. At the beginning of April a team of cinematographers joined us in Kalymnos in order to gather information for a documentary that aims to follow and record one of the last remaining Kalymnian sponge fishing boats.
 The increasing demand for the Mediterranean sponge, which was of high quality and widely expanded around the basin, made sponges one of the most lucrative trades in the Med. Over 200 years now the Kalymnians have been at the forefront of sponge fishing supporting the economy of the whole island.
***
It was well known that not everyone is going to return...
***
Small boats would embark every April after Easter for up to 7 months covering the n. coast of Africa sometimes reaching Tunisia and Algeria and Sicily. It was well known in the island that not everyone is going to return - at least not at one piece. Endless days confronting the worst conditions at sea, diving at bottomless depths, threatened constantly by the 'bends' but always determined to gather as much as they can of this valuable merchandise...
 Till 1870 the divers would dive with a 13-kilo stone in order to go deep and stay at the bottom for up to 3 minutes. Then diving with a dry suit and a brass helmet (skafandro) was introduced and production increased dramatically. With it though accidents and death came along as they ignored the effect of excess nitrogen in their bodies that caused decompression sickness. Between 1886 and 1910 10,000 divers died and 20,000 remained handicapped. You can still meet some of them today at the coffee shops at the town of Kalymnos.
Due to the invasion of the artificial sponge and the disease that hit sponges, production has been greatly reduced and the profession of the sponge diver is disappearing. Nowadays there only 42 sponge divers active in Kalymnos, of which only 10 are of young age. 15 Kalymnian sponge fishing boats still remain and within the next few years there may be none!
Today the tragic story of Kalymnos tends to be forgotten with less and less witnesses alive. The aim of the documentary is to record the profession and life of these "sea nomads" following them in their risky and long journey at sea.
***
Get an insight into the sponge diver's life first-hand
***
 Kalymnos is one of our favourite stops in the Dodecanese islands. We like to visit the little fjord of Vathy, visit one of its secret caves and observe its stallaktites... hear stories from local sponge divers... eat fish at the local tavern specially prepared by Yiannis!
Have a read at a sample itinerary around the Dodecanese islands...
The first available trip is on the 19th of June and starts from the island of Kos. It promises to be a really amazing experience!
If you are interested in learning more about this trip just contact us...
***
Meet the sponge: our oldest ancestor!
***
Sponges constitute the most primitive multi-celled organisms. In the past people thought they were plants, but in fact they are animals, of the phylum Porifera. Aristotelis was the first one to recognize it. The sponges were used since the ancient times in Greece in writing, drawing, medicine and personal hygiene.
They are sessile and have a porous body that lacks organs. They don't have nervous, digestive or circulatory systems. They respire and feed by passing water through a system of internal canals, using flagellated cells, filtering food particles out of the water. A 10cm high sponge can pump 22 liters of water in 24 hrs. That's why they are very good indicators of clean waters.
 They can be found usually attached to rocks or in the sand on top of other organisms. Some prefer caves and crevices. There are around 5,000 known types of sponges worldwide. In Greece very common are the Chondrosia reniformis, Aplysina aerophoba and Axinella species (check the photos).
This and many more information on the marine biodiversity and species you will encounter while diving in the East Med, you will learn in the presentation we have prepared for you.
We organise sailing and diving adventures every month and whether you are an advanced diver or a beginner you will be amazed by the unique wealth that hides in the magical depths of our seas!
The remaining available dates for this summer are the following:
Saturday 29 May - Saturday 5 June
Saturday 19 - Saturday 26 June
Saturday 26 June - Saturday 3 July
Saturday 24 - Saturday 31 July
Saturday 28 August - Saturday 4 September
Saturday 11 - Saturday 18 September
Read more about our sailing & diving adventures here...
 ***
Free trial dive for beginners!
***
If you join us in May or June for sailing or diving, we are happy to offer you a free Discover Scuba Diving experience to get you introduced intoo the magical underwater world. You will have the chance to join us on a trial dive and decide whether diving is for you (we are 100% sure you will enjoy it!) before committing to follow the full Open Water training.
Please let us know whether you are interested in this free trial course here...
If you wish to discuss the above or any other matter please don't hesitate to contact us either by calling +30 6976 761 492 or emailing info@mystic-blue.org
The Mystic Blue team
www.mystic-blue.org/en |
