We reached the grottoes and ducked under rocky arches into several of the chambers, the skipper handling the craft deftly in even the trickiest sections. He would occasionally ask us all to nudge together into the middle of the vessel to provide better balance in narrow stretches. Some caves can be entered only when the tide is out, as higher water levels would result in bashed foreheads on the way in.
Water erosion had formed holes in some ceilings, and in other places sunlight shone through underwater cracks in the cave walls, giving the seawater a luminous green glow.
It was all pretty amazing, though the presence of many other pleasure boats inevitably reduced that special “at one with the wonders of nature” feeling. There were lots of kayakers, and one boat had a small version of a children’s playground slide at the back so swimmers could slip into the water. Some trips offer a chance to go snorkelling, though even in high summer the water is pretty cold – it is the Atlantic, after all. We were told that the final grotto we visited was called the Monster Cave, because a rock face inside resembled an enormous skull.
