The Illes Medes are located in the middle of the Costa Brava, about 100 km north of Barcelona, near the resort of L'Estartit. The islands consist of the seven main islands of Medellot, Meda Grand, Meda Petita, les Ferrenelles, Tasco Gros, Tasco Petit and Carall Bernat. The islands have been inhabited since the Middle Ages, when pirates used them as a base from which to raid the surrounding villages. You can still find the circular watchtowers here, which served as a beacon for the locals to announce an impending pirate attack. Until 1983, L'Estartit was just a small village where the main source of livelihood was fishing in the waters around the islands. In that year, however, the Catalan parliament approved the area as a protected area with a ban on all fishing. In 1990, this protection was further increased when the entire area of 511 hectares was declared an underwater reserve. As a result, L'Estartit has been completely transformed, with the local population turning from fishing to tourism. Hotels, restaurants and, of course, diving bases and other centres oriented not only to water sports began to spring up. Today, L'Estartit is a popular tourist destination, especially for divers from all over Europe;


Michal Černý, a traveller, will tell you about the diving pearl of the Mediterranean.