July 13, 2017
The Enchanted Forest
When we dive in tropical seas the water is a transparent, warm blue – ideal conditions. Yet 15 days into the campaign we’ve been diving in cloudy, green and cold water and we’re delighted. We’ve found ecosystems similar to those in warm water in both Scotland and Norway, that is, “if you can call temperatures of 9ºC” warm. This ecosystem in an authentic forest, “the enchanted forest”. A kelp forest (kelpos) several meters high has covered the bottom on every dive up to 20 meters deep, blocking our view of the rock. It’s a beautiful landscape, but as with any forest on land, seeing it from above isn’t enough: you have to enter it.
If you look for a gap between its “trees”, there is an incredible explosion of life underneath this blanket of green. This is a refuge for a multitude of species, and they use the protection of the kelp to reproduce, take refuge and hunt.