How nice is it when you are zapping and suddenly a friend of yours is appearing on the television screen? It happened to us recently. Harold became a well-known Dutchman for a while. He wanted to sell his cooler because of his family’s migration to Lanzarote.
In the spring of 2018 we went to that Canary Island. The reason was that one of us wanted to give his dive hobby a boost and the other is not afraid of a trip to an area with plenty of water to explore with a bit of good weather in March. Harold, son Dennis and wife Karolien run since last year Euro-Divers Lanzarote and try to build a flourishing business, so it was quickly settled. We booked plane tickets, arranged a sleeping spot and off we went.
We already met Harold and Karolien at a few family parties and we also once met Dennis. In recent past the diver of us took a short reactivate dive course with Harold in the Netherlands. He is a seasoned certified diver and until recently very active in the dive club Moby Divers.
Trust is important to both of us, especially if you want to dive abroad for the first time as an inexperienced diver. Getting the briefing in your own language from someone you already know is a big advantage.
When we arrived at the dive shop, which looks beautiful by the way and is equipped with all the comforts, we found Dennis behind the counter. An enthusiastic young guy who is almost born in a diving suit. He started diving at 8 years old and he now has a wealth of experience that he can use in his own business. He has dived in many places in the world, has plenty of diving certificates and knows everything about fish and underwater photography. You can also contact him for nice eateries!
In the ten days that we stayed on the island, there was a lot of diving with one or both gentlemen and a start was made with a course for a next license. Father and son are excellent teachers who teach everything to you very calmly and clearly. To complete the course, we have to go back one more time, well, that’s annoying, not!
Lanzarote is a volcanic island and, besides having some nice tourist attractions like the Timanfaya National Park, picturesque villages and beautiful views, is an eldorado for divers. It has many good dive sites, of which we have only seen a few.
From the store in Puerto del Carmen you walk straight onto the beach and the underwater adventure starts quickly. There is even a mini sea horse waiting for you. Dennis is a master in discovering life underwater. With him you see so many fish that many fishmongers would get quite exited.
Another beautiful place is Playa Blanca, Flamingo Beach. By now, the other diving enthusiasts of our family had also landed and joined us for this diving trip. Dennis guided us along an interesting underwater route in the morning. The afternoon was dedicated to the underwater museum “Museo Atlantico”. Together with Dennis and Harold we swam through the still young museum. Truly an experience and unique in Europe.
Karolien is the permanent force in the store and ensures an extremely hospitable welcome. She makes the slogan “Diving with friends” even more true. She also has the dive virus in her veins, but does not deal with customers under the water surface. So they all have their own activities and it runs like a well-oiled machine.
Dear people, we had a wonderful time. Perhaps we can make it an annual family outing?