La Palma · Spain · Reef · Artificial reef
Malpique - Cruces
Rows of crosses on the sand at 15 m, set here in 1999
Area photo: Frank Vincentz · CC BY-SA 3.0
Stone crosses stand on the seabed off Malpique at 15 to 16 m, a memorial to forty Jesuit missionaries killed off Tazacorte in 1570 and placed here in 1999. The dive is a slow pass along the rows and the sand around them, where stingrays and angel sharks lie up and a close look turns up seahorses and nudibranchs. It is open to certified divers of any level.
Also known as Las Cruces de Malpique, Malpique-Las Cruces.
Where it is and how deep
28.4567° N, 17.8468° WPublished position for this site.
Site maps published elsewhere
The dive
The crosses are the dive. They stand in rows on the bottom at 15 to 16 m, forty in the memorial and thirty-nine usually counted on the seabed, and the pass along them takes the first half of the dive. Depth stays shallow and even the whole way, so a group can work slowly down the lines and back with plenty of gas left for the ground around them.
The sand is worth the second half. Electric rays lie half-buried in it, stingrays are common, and angel sharks turn up on the open bottom. Look closer along the edges and seahorses and nudibranchs appear; hawksbill turtles have been recorded at the site. Nothing about the dive is demanding, which is why the local centres take certified divers of all levels here.
Background
The memorial commemorates forty Jesuit missionaries led by Ignacio de Azevedo, who were sailing from Lisbon to Brazil and had called at Tazacorte when they were attacked and killed on 15 July 1570 by corsairs under Jacques de Sores. Divers on this coast spoke for years of forty submerged crosses honouring the men who died in those fights with pirates. The crosses were installed on the seabed in 1999.
Marine life and season
- Stingrays
- Nudibranchs
- Sea turtles
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good |
Season follows La Palma: Diving runs year round; the south-coast centre rates September to November best, when the trade winds ease and the water is warmest. Dives and boat transits inside the marine reserve are capped.
Questions divers ask
Why are there crosses underwater at Malpique?+
They are a memorial to forty Jesuit missionaries led by Ignacio de Azevedo, killed on 15 July 1570 by corsairs under Jacques de Sores after their ship called at Tazacorte. The crosses were placed on the seabed in 1999.
Sources
- Malpique - Cruces — Scubago
- Las Cruces de Malpique — Buceo Isla Bonita
- Guía de Buceo La Palma 2019 — Cabildo de La Palma / Oceanográfica
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