Elyoenai Aparicio, freediver and captain of the Canary Islands Freediving Team, is clear that the island has become an ideal place for professional and amateur freedivers where they can enjoy the depths just a few metres offshore
Usually when people think about freediving, they already have an image in their mind of someone fearlessly descending down into the depths of the ocean with just a breath of air in their lungs. Of course, in the world of freediving, this is a fundamental part of the discipline, but it‘s just a small part of this amazing sport. In reality, every time you hold your breath and glide below the surface, whether in shallow water or in the depths, you are a freediver on a journey to explore the underwater world, and Lanzarote is one of the best places in the world to practice this sport.
“Lanzarote is one of the best places in the world for freediving. It has perfect conditions for this sport.“
Elyoenai Aparicio, freediver and captain of the Canary Islands Freediving Team, is clear that “the island offers perfect conditions all year round for freedivers from all over the world to come and enjoy their sport.“ Our bodies work differently in the water, and especially underwater. Gravity is eliminated, we discover weightlessness and truly free, three-dimensional movement is possible. Aparicio has practised many sports in his life, and for him “freediving is the only sport where I feel something totally different.“ Elyoenai is also a freediving instructor and has seen a growth in the number of beginner and advanced courses he teaches during the year. “More and more professionals and amateurs are coming to Lanzarote to experience freediving in Lanzarote’s waters – it’s something that’s on the rise at the moment.“
“We are in the middle of the Atlantic and that means that there are big fish, dolphins, whales and also out of the water we have a spectacle of mountain volcanoes representing Lanzarote’s wild soul.”
The fact that Lanzarote has hosted the last three Spanish Outdoor Freediving Championships is no coincidence, because “there are very few places in the world where you can find deep waters just a few metres from the coast, with good visibility and with little variation in temperatures between the surface and the depths.“ The beauty of the seabed and the biodiversity found in each dive are factors that favour the holding of national freediving competitions as well as diving competitions.
Freediving is considered an extreme sport, but with the right safety measures there is zero danger. “The sport can be practised by anyone, as long as they have undergone the corresponding training courses to know how to act at all times. Never go out alone, and in this sport it’s vital to understand your body and your mind.“
Aparicio enjoys long days of training with his students or friends in front of Puerto del Carmen and with his experience of having gone freediving in different parts of the world he confirms that “Lanzarote is the Mecca of freediving in Europe”.
