Scuba Diving from Eiffel Tower The weather was nippy and overcast and the water just chest-high, but a new scuba-diving pool in Paris has something Bali, Belize and other diving hotspots don‘t: a terrific view of the Eiffel Tower.
"Through the water you can see the monument. It‘s magnificent," said New Zealand tourist Adrian Carter, one of the first to try it.
"This is better than the Eiffel Tower," said Carter, a 28-year-old computer programmer, his hair dripping from the 30-minute dive — his first ever.
The above-ground pool is under the Tower, between its four legs. It‘s small, at 50 feet by 50 feet, about half the size of a basketball court. Just 4 feet deep, it‘s safe for beginners and children aged 8 and older, said the event‘s organizers, an umbrella group of scuba associations. To add a touch of realism, the bottom of the pool is studded with waterproof photos of fluorescent fish.
More people milled around the pool‘s perimeter — watching the instructors as they floated on their backs staring up at the tower‘s steel girders — than actually queuing up for a lesson.
Organizers of the 10-day diving event said they were angling for tourists and Parisians alike.
He said organizers also hope the diving experience will focus attention on the environmental dangers threatening the ocean.
Organizers expect up to 3,000 people to take the plunge before the lessons end June 10 — so long as the dismal weather improves.
"I‘m still shivering," he said through chattering teeth. "I‘m going again tomorrow."
By : Associated Press
