Mesa Pigadia Caves

Mesa Pigadia sits at the base of the Akrotiri peninsula on Santorini's southwest coast, with the island landmass wrapping around from the NW through N, NE and E — so the dominant summer Meltemi (N-NW) is fully land-shadowed and the site stays diveable when the north of the island is blown out. The exposed window is the open Cretan Sea to the S-SW-W, with the S, SSW and SW sectors wide open toward Crete; a southerly blow (Notos/Sirocco) or a distant S swell is what builds surface chop and pushes surge through the caves. The SE-ESE is partly sheltered by the headland at the south end of the bay, and the NW-N-NE sectors are blocked by the peninsula.