Macronesia is the name given to the scattered archipelagos of the mid atlantic primarily consisting of the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and the Cap Verde Islands. All the islands are volcanic and in some cases actively so in the form of fumaroles, hot springs, earthquakes and the occasional eruption. The submarine landscape is rugged and the marine life somewhere between the Mediterranean and the Tropics. Sea temperatures are not high enough to support reef building corals. Big game fish are commonly seen and so are a variety of cetaceans. They are becoming more popular as dive destinations and there are scuba centres in all the locations mentioned above. I have dived in the Canaries on Lanzarote, Fuerteventura and Gran Canaria, in Madeira and in Sao Miguel, the largest Azorean island.

Madeira

This mountainous volcanic island lies to the north of the Canaries but is much more remote. Diving is possible at several locations with most centres being based near Funchal, the capital. There is a large marine reserve near Funchal and diving offers the chance to see some large grouper.

Azores

We spent 2 weeks on this volcanic archipelago which lies something like 1000 miles west of Portugal. The islands are little known for their diving but the few dives we had suggested fish and invertebrate life was prolific. Visibility was disappointing on several dives but the water seems to clear rapidly after high winds. Some of the offshore reefs such as Formigas sound tantalisingly spectacular. We spent our fortnight on Sao Miguel the largest in the group and dived with Espirito Azul based in Vila do Franco Campo. Although their web site is in Portugese the dive centre owner and dive guides speak excellent English and at least one of them (in 2007) is a marine biologist.

Sao Miguel

	Jacks under the Dori	Pen shell (Pinna rudis) on the Dori
The Dori	Worms on the wreck of the Dori a Liberian cargo ship that sank in 1964	Angie Glanvill admiring Sabella tube worms
Violet sea urchin (Sphaerechinus granularis)	Rainbow Wrasse	Comber
	Fireworms (Hermodice carunculata)
Nudibranch		A pair of Scorpion Fish
	Dotted Moray(Muraena augusti)	Ilheu di Vila Franca
Ilheu di Vila Franca	Canyon south east side of Ilheu di Vila Franca	Ilheu di Vila Franca
Ilheu di Vila Franca	Ilheu di Vila Franca, a small island with a central flooded crater, offshore from Vila Franca do Campo	Pelagian noctiluca - a bioluminescent jellyfish
	Common Stingray ((Dasyatis pastinaca)	Common Stingray ((Dasyatis pastinaca)

Canary Islands

This cluster of volcanic islands, Spanish territory, that lie off the north west coast of Africa probably need little introduction. They have been steadily developed as tourist destinations for European holiday makers over the last 30-40 years and as diving has become more popular dive centres have sprung up on all the islands. The standard of equipment on hire seems to vary as does the quality of diving - not because there aren't some excellent dive sites but more because centres have to cater for a wide range of experience and find it simpler to commit to a limited number of dive sites. It is therefore probably worth shopping around or changing centres if you get the opportunity. The type of diving varies from drop offs and walls to shallow reefs and wrecks.

Lanzarote

Although we have done a limited amount of diving in Lanzarote there is an immense variety of underwater scenery in the small area around Puerto del Carmen to the south west of the island. It is also one of the largest towns on the island and is something of a tourist trap. Around the harbour are several dive sites all reasonably accesible from the shore although the line of wrecks near the harbour mouth is more conveniently dived by boat. A shore dive just to the east of the harbour leads swiftly to an deep drop off whilst nearby are some shallow caves. A multitude of fish and invertebrates can be seen in this area.