The heart of Cidade Velha Diving

Tony is a passionate and highly experienced instructor, certified as a PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer (MSDT), who brings a lifetime of connection to the ocean into every dive. Originally from Fuengirola, a coastal town in southern Spain, he fell in love with the sea as a child—exploring rocky shores with his friends using old, hand-me-down masks. That early curiosity slowly turned into a true calling.

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He began diving more seriously at the age of 13, completed his first course at 15, and became a certified PADI Instructor in 2017 after two years of intensive training as a Divemaster at Abysub, a dive center in Fuengirola, Málaga, which he considers his second home and where he worked until 2024.

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Tony has explored dive sites all over the world, but one of his most unforgettable memories is from Baja California, where he shared the water with whale sharks, bull sharks, sea lions, whales, turtles, and a huge variety of marine life in a trip he describes as both exciting and deeply meaningful.

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As an MSDT, Tony is certified to teach multiple specialties and has trained many students over the years. What he loves most is watching people overcome fear—students who start their courses nervous or unsure, and finish proud, confident, and transformed.

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He especially enjoys dives where larger marine life can be found and where the feeling of exploration is strongest. But beyond the creatures, what he truly values is the silence, the weightlessness, and the deep inner peace of being fully immersed in the underwater world.

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Tony founded Cidade Velha Diving as a way to take the next step: to open a dive school in a place that deeply moved him—Cidade Velha, in Cape Verde—where diving is still developing and has the power to positively impact the local community.

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For him, what makes diving in Cape Verde so unique is its diversity: warm, clear waters; wrecks and a range of depths; incredible corals; schools of fish; both large and small marine life; underwater caves; and endless possibilities for both recreational and technical diving.

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His most touching memory? Guiding a 6-year-old girl—who arrived full of fear and had no intention of diving—through her first underwater experience with a Bubble Maker. She was so moved by the experience that she later wrote Tony a letter of gratitude—one he still keeps close to his heart.

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Whether you're just starting out or looking to advance your skills, diving with Tony is about more than just certification—it's an invitation to discover a new world of calm, color, and depth.