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Cliff divers set out on quest to conquer Ibiza’s ‘Cave of Light’

Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series athletes embarked on another stunning adventure as they dived into one of the most secret and hard-to-get places on Ibiza’s wild west coast.

Cap D’Albarca is a small area of coast line between San Antonio and Port De San Miguel that has a large entrance to a bay. Surrounded by cliff tops there are two dives here that meet each other, these are the Pillars of Hercules and the Caves of Light.

Na Coloms, popularly known as “La Cueva de la Luz”, is one of the most secret and hard-to-get places on the Ibiza island.

David Colturi of the USA dives from 25.5 metres into the Cave of Light (S’Ullal de na Coloms) during a Red Bull Cliff Diving project in Ibiza, Spain on July 5, 2021.

For those who haven’t heard about it yet, it is a cave located in the north of the island, in Cala D’Albarca, a few metres from the sea level. The water from the sea enters through an underwater gallery, forming a natural swimming pool. As you can imagine, its nickname is inspired by the reflections of sunlight that illuminate the whole cave, especially under the midday sun.

The name for the ‘Cave of Light’ was inspired by the beautiful reflections of sunlight that illuminate the whole cave – especially under the midday sun – creating a stunning blue glow.

The fact that only a few people know this corner of the island is because it is located in a practically inaccessible place. Only the most adventurous, divers and climbers dare to visit, as there is no sign indicating how to arrive, and the road is quite dangerous, especially in the final stretch, which is going down a very large and steep stone wall.

Once inside the cave you can observe the erosion of the columns that has divided the interior which makes up this wonderful visual hallway of pillars inside the cliff. The cave of pillars seems like it’s the work of humans, but far from it because it’s all happened with nature. The walls of the cave of brightly lit with orange and reddish colonies of polyps and abundant yellow incrusting anemones, sponges. A fabulous view from inside this cave looking out gives you a great setting of bright blue shinning through the cave. The walls of the cave provide a colorful shelter.

Celia Fernandez of Spain dives 17 metres into the Cave of Light (S’Ullal de na Coloms) during a Red Bull Cliff Diving project in Ibiza, Spain on July 5, 2021.

So, to take up the challenge, a group of five accomplished athletes of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series, accompanied by the sport’s ambassador, Colombian legend Orlando Duque, met on Spain’s third largest Balearic Island, Ibiza. Australia’s four-time World Series champion Rhiannan Iffland, and David Colturi from the US, spend their time between competitions in Europe, so they teamed up with Gary Hunt representing France and the Spain-based divers Celia Fernandez and Jonathan Paredes in a quest to conquer Ibiza’s Cave of Light.

This all happened before the second stop of the 2021 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series in Norwegian capital Oslo on August 14.

The perfect take off position was 25m above the crystal clear water on a tiny flat stone platform and, in order to safely clear the rocks below, the divers needed to push a good six metres out while at the same time not getting too visually distracted by the rock wall on the opposite side.

Gary Hunt of France dives from 25.5 metres into the Cave of Light (S’Ullal de na Coloms) during a Red Bull Cliff Diving project in Ibiza, Spain on July 5, 2021.

World Series record winner Hunt revealed: “When I first heard about this place, I was very shocked. I didn’t know if it would be possible, then I saw photos and I felt like we can do it. This trip felt very special. The fact that we were a small group of divers far away from the stress of competition and in such a special place. We were just all bouncing off each other.”

American Colturi added: “I think one of the trickiest parts is comitting to the take-off, because you’ve got this wall right in front of you and – although you won’t hit it – you have really got to push all the way to clear that ledge and in the desired spot getting between these two rocks.”

While the roof of the cave fell hundreds of years ago, leaving a big opening straight to the sea, it took the divers a couple of deep breaths and belief in their skills to push themselves into the abyss.

(L-R) Rhiannan Iffland of Australia, Orlando Duque of Colombia, David Colturi of the USA, Celia Fernandez of Spain and Jonathan Paredes of Mexico in discussion after diving into the Cave of Light (S’Ullal de na Coloms) during a Red Bull Cliff Diving project in Ibiza, Spain on July 5, 2021.

Colombian legend Duque explained: “It’s never easy to dive into a cave as it’s very bright outside and very dark inside. This contrast is very complicated because you don’t see the surface of the water. Apart from this it is very exciting to find these kinds of spots in nature, places that are very close to the city but at the same time very far and difficult to access.”

Four-time World Series champion Iffland of Australia declared: “What a time to be alive!”

(All images through Red Bull Content Pool)

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