Undisturbed from the summer crowds, Pavlopetri lies peacefully under the soft waves of the Myrtoan Sea. It is the world’s oldest sunken city, located in Vatika Bay in the eastern part of the Peloponnese of Greece. Even on a crisp, winter morning, this submerged town remains a unique place for underwater exploration and freediving.
Lacking the cumbersome scuba diving equipment and undersea noise of air bubbles that goes along with the sport, freediving is essentially diving on a single breath. A freediver can enjoy Pavlopetri’s eternal silence and savor every bit of the ancient history that lies only a few meters below the surface of the sea. Even amateur freedivers that go down to depths of up to 10 meters can easily get close to and even touch the remnants of the city, covered in up to five meters of water.
Many visitors who observe the submerged city from the sea’s surface by snorkeling during the summer months are disappointed that they only see “scattered stones on the bottom of the sea.” Indeed, the upper sections of the buildings of this once thriving coastal settlement were constructed of mud brick and/or timber frames covered in plaster and did not remain intact underwater.
Today, only their foundations continue to exist. Yet, Pavlopetri should not be seen as pieces of a dismembered ancient trading port, as it once was, but rather as an almost complete, submerged city, with an urban plan that includes streets, buildings, and tombs—and that’s what makes it so unique.
Freediving in Pavlopetri, Greece among ancient buildings and streets
In recent years, just a few meters away from the prehistoric cemetery situated on the rocks to the left of the Pavlopetri islet, a sign has been put up, laying out much of the city’s underwater plan. It even includes suggested routes of how someone might explore the submerged, 5,000-year-old site.
The tip of the large, exposed rock by the sandy beach is a good spot to begin one’s freediving adventure down to the submerged city of Pavlopetri in southern Greece. To the left are some of the most well-preserved building foundations, all mostly clustered together. These are clearly visible even on days with low, underwater visibility due to the strong currents and winds that often batter Vatika Bay.
In the summertime, there are also numbered buoys of various colors just across from the site. These are secured with a rope to concrete weights on the bottom of the sea and are signs that help identify the various underwater structures. However, the buoys also allow freedivers to rest prior to taking yet one more long breath and going in for another dive.
Past the buildings and about 300 meters further out at sea lies a chamber tomb. To the right is the main part of the city, almost right next to the islet of Pavlopetri. One can also freedive among walls and the ruins of buildings that look like huge complexes of rocks, laying out the shape of what once were, according to archaeologists, two-story homes.
In fact, in one of the corners, one can still see two of the roads that once lined the homes. If lucky, one can even freedive in the company of sea turtles, which have built their nests in Vatika Bay and observe marine life, including parrotfish and dotted moray eels hiding amongst the rocks.
From there, one can keep swimming out to the left to the edge of the city and come out through the sandy part of the sea or otherwise swim straight to the large rock where the underwater adventure began.
What exactly is freediving?
Freediving is all about freely and naturally exploring the depths of the sea. It means diving underwater on a single breath, depending only on your lungs until resurfacing. Every year, the sport is embraced by millions of people across the globe.
Freediving doesn’t just happen. It is a physical as much as a mental sport and a combination of learning and training with a certified instructor. One needs to learn how to coordinate the body and mind, equalize the outside pressure while descending into the sea, and achieve a sufficient breath hold that allows you to stay underwater safely to enjoy the depths.
Contrary to what most people believe, freediving is not an adrenaline-pumping sport. In fact, it is just the opposite and requires a lot of relaxation, which freedivers achieve through breathing techniques and even yoga prior to going diving. These both affect the body’s muscles and mind. The heart rate needs to be low, but this is also achievable once humans submerge their face in cold water anyway.
This submersion triggers the diving reflex (known as Mammalian Diving Reflex or MDR, wired into our DNA), which is applicable to all mammals, though, in humans, the MDR is less intense. The MDR prompts the body to respond by conserving oxygen, slowing the heart rate, and prioritizing blood flow to the brain and heart. Dolphins can take long, deep dives largely thanks to their remarkable diving reflex.
In freediving, the body slows down its functions so as to conserve oxygen. Thus, every move underwater must be especially gentle and coordinated. Freedivers go down in calm, ideally warm waters with no currents, as every additional movement of the body, even stress, leads to the burning of much-needed oxygen. Through consistent training, the body learns to resist the urge to breathe while underwater, and it copes with the carbon dioxide buildup, managing to calmly stay under the surface for longer over time.
Professional freedivers can dive to depths of over 130 meters and hold their breath while descending and ascending for more than four minutes.
Freediving in Greece
In August, the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports set up a new body called “Dive in Greece,” which aims to turn the country into a global freediving destination.
In a memorandum of understanding with the World Underwater Federation (CMAS), Greece has agreed to promote and organize freediving competitions and other freediving events in in the country, starting in 2025. Α seminar, along with an international apnea competition (voluntary breath-holding while keeping the face under the surface of the water) are scheduled to take place on the Greek island of Amorgos, where part of Luc Besson’s 1988 legendary movie, The Big Blue, was filmed. The film was based on the life of acclaimed freediver Jaques Mayol, who, along with his love for dolphins, made the sport known around the world.
Greece, a Mediterranean country surrounded by the sea, already has several freediving schools, with more popping up each year, and most offer official freediving certifications issued by international associations.