At last, we reach this immense canyon south of Menorca. The first dive takes us to a depth of 235 meters, a record for us. As soon as we reach the bottom, we see an anglerfish (Lophius sp.) camouflaged amongst the fine sediment. Soon, the walls of the canyon begin to rise quickly and we come across different sea floors; some covered with large quantities of detritus and others with rocks. Some of these rocks are quite large and are spotted with sponges and some gorgonias. The first we see is a Callogorgia verticillata, and later we spot some Isidella elongata and other smaller ones that seem to be Bebryce mollis, although we need to confirm this with the recorded images. But the most spectacular by far are the yellow tree corals (Dendrophyllia cornigera) reaching incredible dimensions. On the tallest rock, we see concentrations of yellow gorgonias (Eunicella cavolini) and some marine sponges (Axinella sp.) and small corals.

During the second dive, we are not able to descend so much, to 212 meters, and the currents are quite strong. The scenery is similar to the one we just saw. More corals and gorgonias. Now there are many more fish than there were in the morning, including swallowtail seaperches (Anthias athias), combers (Serranus cabrilla), scorionfish (Scorpaena scrofa) and a John Dory (Zeus faber). We see very little algae, although we have been able to see some dispersed laminaria, such as the Phyllariopsis brevipes.

As soon as we reached the top of the canyon, at around 85-90 meters depth, we see a maerl bed, and further on some rocks and calcareous red algae of the Peyssonelia and Mesophyllum species, and later a sandy area with large quantities of sea urchins, especially the Spatangus purpureus.

The day started off well, but the weather steadily become worse. I am afraid we will have to finish our work for today and seek shelter near the coast.

During the first dive, the robot reached 75 meters depth and continued to descend just under 100 meters. In the afternoon, we headed toward the central area of the canal and descended to 240 meters. The last dive of the day was carried out in front of Son Saura where we worked between 80 and 120 meters depth.

Both ends of the canal are made up of maerl, although it is more dense and found in an area of sandy ripples in the part closest to Mallorca, making the concentrations of algae form parallel lines. At the other end, we see some large and branched-out pink sea fans (Eunicella verrucosa), tube anemones (Cerianthus membranaceus), blotched picarels (Spicara flexuosa) and mollusc eggs, and not too far away, the mollusc that spawned them: a huge nudibranch (Tethys fimbria), measuring approximately 30 centimetres.

At approximately 135 meters, we find the brown algae Laminaria rodriguezii, a species that is endemic to this sea and included in the Mediterranean Sea's blacklist. And when we reach 200 meters, on a fine sediment floor, we see abundant quantities of triglids, dragonets (Calliionymus sp.), octopus (Eledone sp.), and molluscs, as well as two of the most common species of sharks, the small-spotted catshark (Scyliorhinus canícula) and the nurse hound (S. stellaris), apparently born this year because they barely measure 20-30 centimetres in length.

Today, we will take samples with the ROV in two areas within the park. One in the southeast and another in the north. The sea floors are sandy with large concentrations of sand urchins, especially Spatangus purpureus.

In other areas, we spot large concentrations of rhizomes and dead Posidonia leaves which have been transported to depths of 80-90 meters. The habitat they create is used by scorpionfish (Scorpaena scrofa) and brown combers (Serranus hepatus). But we also spot some dead man's hand finger coral (Alcyonium acaule), anemones (Andresia parthenopea) and many hermit crabs (Pagurus prideaux) wearing cloak anemones (Adamsia carciniopados) and others that have chosen Suberites sponges for houses instead of a shell. As far as we can see, it must be mating season, because many of the male hermit crabs were holding on firmly to the females with their claws.

Other crabs that are quite commonly found here are the Inachus species. Another species that is also probably quite common here, although we have not seen too many, is the pebble crab (Ilia nucleus), but given they are so small, many of them probably went unseen by us.

The echinoderms are common here, especially the holothurians (Stichopus regalis and Holothuria tubulosa) and even the pencil urchins (Stylocidaris affinis), although we are surprised to find a long-spined urchin (Centrostephanus longispinus) because, apart from the fact that it is endangered, it is not frequently found in sandy areas.

Toward the end of the day, as night was approaching, a brown ray appeared (Raja miraletus) and as it swam up the water column, we were thrilled to see a giant salp (Salpa maxima) "dancing" in front of the robot's lights.

Today, as we were working underwater, we knew our co-workers on land were fighting an important battle which had been going on for weeks in order to stop the decline in the shark population, steadily declining for the past decades. In Strasbourg, the European Parliament was debating a proposal defended by two Spanish Euro MPs (one from the PSOE and the other from the PP, left and right-wing political parties respectively) in order to weaken, even more so if possible, European legislation regarding sharks and in favour of shark fin commerce. Luckily, this incomprehensible and dangerous proposal was rejected and, as soon as we were informed, we celebrated the victory on board.

Today, we will enter the Cabrera National Park. We have a meeting early this morning with the park rangers in order to exchange information and decide in which areas we are going to work. They were extremely helpful. Many of them have spent various years here and they are very fond of this area. Those of us who have been able to see Cabrera's evolution during the last 25 years feel very happy. The region that was bombarded by military manoeuvres carried out in this archipelago during the decade of the eighties has turned into one of the most beautiful protected natural areas in the Mediterranean.

The divers submerge themselves in Cala Galiana cove in order to observe the state of the area, continuously open to diving activities since it was declared a protected region. It is in pretty good shape and it is not uncommon to see many pen shells (Pinna nobilis) among the prairies of Posidonia oceanica here, as well as a large number of grouper (Epinephelus marginatus), seabreams (Diplodus vulgaris), white breams (Diplodus sargus), brown meagre (Sciaena umbra) and other species.

Although not one day goes by since we have been in the Balearic Islands that we don't find clouds of luminous jellyfish (Pelagia noctiluca), and the quantity we have seen in this cove has astonished us.

Later, we begin to work with the submarine robot. We head toward the deepest area in the park in order to see the sea floors. This area is found toward the southeast and is made up of mud and some dispersed rocks. We spot various sea pens (Pennatula rubra, Virgularia mirabilis), large concentrations of brittlestars (Ophiopsila aranea) and a few feather stars (Antedon mediterranea). On each small rock, we spot a comber (Serranus cabrilla) and various spoon worms (Bonellia viridis). We also spot a few species of large briozoans commonly known as Venus' lace or Neptune's lace (Sertella septentrionalis).

This area is also rich in flat fish and hake, which we always find half buried in the substrate.

In the afternoon, the wind picks up and the currents become very strong, making it quite difficult to work. In the end, we decide to finish for the day and head toward the port of Cabrera.

In the end, we had to take shelter for the night in Porto Petro. In the morning, the storm had subsided and we set sail toward Cabrera.

We did 2 transections with the robot in the limits of the Cabrera National Park in order to find out the state of the sea floors in the areas that are not included within the protected area: one in front of Cap Picamoscas and the other southeast of Punta Ancino.

In both cases, the sea floors were made up of very fine sediment, with many sea pens, especially Funiculina cuadrangularis and Pennatula rubra. There were also many dead man's finger corals (Alcyonium acaule y Paralcyonium spinulosum). This area also proved to be rich in various species of flat fish, such as sole and plaice, but also the strange armoured searobin (Peristedion cataphractum), its rostrum and its long chins giving it an unusual appearance.

We wake up early to find the impressive cliffs of Cap Blanc in front of us. There are vestiges of a large fossil coral reef here that existed in this area of the Mediterranean during the Miocene. More than 5 million years after, we are here to see how these sea floors have evolved. We will use the transection method in order to learn the distributions of the different ecosystems and species between the cliff and the depths of 100 meters. For this, we will work with both the divers in the shallower areas and the robot in the deeper areas.

Various landslides on the cliff have filled the sea floor with large blocks of rock which have become home to many species. Small solitary corals, sponges, algae, etc., the invasive algae Lophocladia lallemandi and further on, a prairie of Posidonia oceanica begins. At 35 meters depth, the sea floors change and spread out over the sand and detritous we see another invasive algae Caulerpa racemosa, spreading out extensively, while the local algae Arthrocladia villosa forms small colonies on the hillocks. Strangely enough, many white gorgonias (Eunicella singularis) can be found in this substrate. We also spot some Mediterranean madrepora reefs (Cladocora caespitosa), many of which are quite large. At 50 meters depth, the sand is becoming more and more fine. We can now see many types of red algae such as Osmundaria volubilis or Phyllopora crispa, and finally this area becomes home to the carrion-eaters and detrivores, especially star-fish and hermit crabs. It is not strange to find other species as well, such as scallops (Pecten jacobeus), brown combers (Serranus hepatus) and crabs belonging to the Inachus family. We also spot many bryozoans, some living atop the hermit crab's shells, and even a seven-armed star-fish (Luidia ciliaris). And something even stranger; a solitary rock coral, the Caryophillia smithi, on a sea floor such as this, made up of fine sediment. Each dive brings us some surprises.

At night, the wind picks up and, although we could have kept sailing until we reached our destination, the rough seas would have prevented us from carrying out our work anyway. So, in order to take advantage, we have decided to change our plans a little and do some diving in the south-eastern part of Mallorca, where we will be sheltered from the north-easterly winds that are powerfully blowing and we will have more of a chance of success.

In the morning, we begin by submerging the robot to 40 meters depth, and then continue to submerge it to approximately 100 meters. The first section is an area that is partially covered by green, brown and red algae, and a few specimens of Colpomenia sinuosa. Not far off, we begin to see a few small rhodolites of calcareous red algae, the typical components of maerl beds. They are Lithothamnion valens and Phymatolithon calcareum, but we frequently spot others belonging to the Peyssonellia family. Amongst the algae we can see various different types of sea-urchins: Brissus unicolor, Spatangus purpureus and Echinocardium cardatum.

Amongst the maerl beds, we also spot many crustaceans of all types, especially the crabs belonging to the spider crab family and the Inachus genus. At more than 60 meters, we can still see the maerl bed spread over the sandy bottom, where it is quite common to see the daisy anemone (Cereus pedunculatus). Once in a while, we come face to face with the deep scars left by the trawlers that fish in this area.

The weather has not been good, but at least we have taken advantage of the day. We will spend the night in a nearby cove so we can continue our work at dawn.

This morning, Juan Cuetos and I crossed into Morocco through the Melilla border in order to inspect the Nador fishing port in search of drift netters.

The "entrance to Europe" has a unique smell. A huge fence separates two worlds, Africa and Europe. We make our way through the noisy crowd that moves in all directions, carrying packages, tires, refrigerators… Cars blowing their horns, military personnel, policemen, everyone pushing and shoving. This is not the first time I cross into Morocco, but I think I will never get used to this, nor to the fact that the world changes so abruptly only a few meters away from No Man's Land. We crossed as fast as customs bureaucracy would allow us and we made our way to the port.

The port of Nador is huge. Upon entering, we spotted the fish market and a large number of moored trawlers, probably due to the adverse meteorological conditions. The activity on the docks is frenetic, fishermen repairing nets that are completely laid out on the floor, fish being transported, motors…

They quickly called Paco, the mechanic, and in just a few minutes the line was changed. The Ranger set sail, with its injuries healed, towards the Seco de los Olivos once again, with two exceptional guests aboard, Ana and Cristina, who came to experience, first hand, the strange sensation of viewing the submarine world thanks to the ROV. The slopes of the Seco de los Olivos fall to over 200 meters depth, but there are still a few rocky areas as you reach the top that harbour some "coral and gorgonia forests."At the top we also spotted many marine sponges on the seafloor, and we had the opportunity to see some species that inhabit the spaces between the sand and the rocks: Lobsters, Apron rays, Streaked gurnards, Anglerfish, Sea urchins…even a group of Pipefish. There were also various types of Gorgonias depending on the area: there were Whip Gorgonias (very amusing) and other more frequent types like the Tree Gorgonia along with other related species.

Thanks to the ROV's zoom lens (more precision at larger scales) we saw ascideans, skeleton shrimp and anemones incrusted in the rocks.

Before leaving the Seco, we immersed the CTD (a probe which allows us to measure levels of oxygen, salinity, temperature, chlorophyll…) to 120 meters depth in order to study the profile of this body of water. The results showed us that the surface layers were very hot, at more than 25 ºC, the thermocl