The Blue Hole of Athens - Nicole Edensbo

Some days passed before we could go deepdiving since my luggage arrived to Athens later than I did. The day after receiving my equipment we went to Pigadi. The blue hole of Athens.

Arrival

Luckily the luggage arrived with all items intact in the bag in which I had almost all my diving equipment including my brand new 5mm suit from Fourth Element. When we arrived, the sun was shining and we spent some time on the rocks by the sea to savor the environment. When coming to a new place I need some time for adjustment and just mentally land where my physical body is. The wind was a little bit cold but the april sun was warm enough to warm us up before the dives.

Sunshine, lighting & thunder

The clouds started getting thicker and darker as we started to put our wetsuits on. When all the equipment was on and we were ready to enter the sea we felt the first drops of rain fall on our heads coloring the rocks to darker nuances. We entered the sea and we saw the lightning. A lightning followed by a rumbling thunder. A magestic act of nature. I have always loved diving in the rain. The intense impressions above the surface in contrast to the calmness beneath is something special.

Pigadi – “The Well”

The name of the hole, Pigadi, means “The Well”. The bottom of the sea is at 10 meters, where the 3 meters wide hole opens and invites you to go another 20 meters. Pigadi has a total depth of 30 meters. At the bottom of the vertical cave an other horizontal cave leads to many other caves that no person knows for sure where they lead. New environments and new waters has to be explored with respect as the particular conditions differs from each site. For me it is the mental thing. To feel home. To feel safe. To dive in to a dark hole is quite an experience since it is hard to see what is in there, before you are in it. The way to find out is to approach it and enter.

Entering the unexplored

At first I could not even understand it was a hole. What I saw only looked like seabed on the bottom of the sea. It was so dark and hard to imagine that there was a hole to the depth of 30 meters. I decided to dive down and get to know it better as Michel prepared the buoy and the equipment. As I entered the shadow of Pigadi the inside revealed itself meter by meter. I had to take one step at a time for each dive to not be frightened by the unexplored. I needed some dives but then I submerged to the depth to see the cave that leads to the unknown. I stayed there for some seconds, looking around as the lightning from the sky above threw flashes of light into the hole for shorter than the blink of an eye. Above the surface the rain fell heavy on the surface of the sea. The lightning and thunder reminded us of the power and wonderful act of nature that we were fortunate to experience.