Snorkelling at La Ciotat

The beaches around Cassis were so busy yesterday that we decided against a paddling and snorkelling trip there. Instead John did some research and found a beach at La Ciotat that was recommended for snorkelling, Anse du Mugel. It was a 25 minute drive away, with a good car park for Bertie, just a 5 minute walk from the beach… if that. There was even a small beach bar. Perfect! 🙂

It was a small pebble beach and actually quite comfortable to sit on, if not to walk on! We pulled on our swimming and snorkelling gear and went straight into the sea. I was itching to try out my new OM Tough camera underwater! There were thousands of fish in the bay around the rocks and in the sea grass… shoals of little ones and small groups of big ones, all around us! It was wonderful!

I kept clicking away with the camera, with no idea whether I was getting any decent shots. After a while I changed the settings a little, to see which worked better. Having checked the images since, I’m not sure it made any difference!

The water was so clear and the colours were lovely where the sunlight reached the bottom. It was a little hazier where the water was deeper and the sunlight didn’t reach the depths.

We swam around into the next little bay. In places the rocks plunged into deep water and the water was really cold. I was glad I had my rash vest on! John was pleased to find a starfish. They’re bright orange in the water!

After a break to warm up and have a snack and some water, we snorkelled a second time. This time we stayed around the rocks in our bay and John had a play with the camera. I’m not sure this photo of me is very flattering but it’s pretty cool for someone who thought they wouldn’t like snorkelling!

After drying off again, we had a beer at the beach bar before packing up and heading back to the campsite. The beach was busier now and the number of people splashing around in the sea seemed to have sent the fish into deeper water. I’m glad we got there early enough to swim with shoals of them, and enjoy the feeling of being in another, calmer world.