HUE team diving in Lake Vegoritida

Columnist: George Petrou

Photo: HUE Archive

Photos: St. Katsanevakis, G. Diamantopoulos

Info: Wikipedia

One of the special forms of Technical diving is lakes which have their own peculiarities such as fresh water, low temperature, altitude etc. It is a different challenge in terms of exploration and gaining experience. Our large group with dry suits enjoyed exploring Vegoritida Lake, another truly underwater environment. Our excursion gave us the opportunity to get to know the wider area, its inhabitants, the customs, traditions and beauties of the place as the snowy Kaimaktsalan (or Mount Voras) dominated above us.

After the 1st exploratory expedition to the lake with George Vandoros and Sophocles Lambrou where we had a "wild first contact" with the underwater dark world of Lake Vegoritida, we decided to set out with many members of our team to dive into the icy and inhospitable environment of the lake. Dark waters and a swampy bottom with logs and large lazy fish. It was full of Goulian as the local fishermen told us. The goulian (scientific name: Silurus glanis) is a large species of catfish that is found in central, southern and eastern Europe, while it has also been introduced to western Europe. One of the two species of catfish in Europe, the other being the glani (S. aristotelis), an endemic species of the lakes of Greece. The goulian is a freshwater fish and is recognized by its broad, thick head and large its mouth. It is one of the largest species of catfish and can exceed 100 kilos in weight and 2.5 meters in length. It can live at least 50 years. A very eerie environment truly full of tree trunks and branches.

But let's look at some facts about Lake Vegoritida. Lake Vegoritida is a lake in Macedonia, and the third largest lake in terms of area in Greece (after Trichonida and Volvi). It has a supra-local character, as it administratively belongs to the prefectures of Pella and Florina and to the Municipalities of Amyntaio and Edessa. It is surrounded by the mountains of Vernos, Voras and Vermio and is the lowest point of the complex of lakes Zazaris, Heimaditida and Petron, whose waters it receives through a system of canals and tunnels. Nearby is the town of Arnissa in the Municipality of Edessa and the settlement of Agios Panteleimonas in the Municipality of Amyntaio. The lake has an area of 54.31 sq. km., maximum length 14.8 sq. km., maximum width 6.9 sq. km., maximum depth 70 m. and is located at an altitude of 540 m.

Of course, our dive computers are set to freshwater diving, taking into account factors such as cold and altitude. With the local boats and from a wooden pier, we dived eagerly. A different feeling, far from the friendly environment of the sea but charming us accordingly. Buoyancy varies, we need less weight. Movement next to the muddy bottom is prohibited because if sediment rises then everything becomes cloudy and the environment becomes dangerous. The lenses must have a concentrated beam to penetrate the sediment and the pairs must be side by side and not get lost.

The first incident did not take long to happen....Yiannis Diamantopoulos experiences the ..... "coolness" of the lake waters as the latex from the hand of the waterproof, even though it is new, tears and he feels the waterproof flooding. Volida in an incredible time is on the surface.

Τα μέλη της ομάδας καταδύθηκαν και απόλαυσαν τον συναρπαστικό βυθό που ανάλογα με την καθαρότητα του σημείου και το βάθος ο ήλιος διεισδύοντας έκανε πολλά παιχνίδια.

We all emerge happy and as usual we went to a local tavern for the meal provided by the municipality.

We had a wonderful time making a very interesting excursion from all sides. To name a few of the participants, Thanasis Nikolaopoulos, Oktapodas Stavros, Yannis Diamantopoulos, Ariadne Lambrou Bletsa, Prokopis Gioyikas, Stelios and Anastasia Katsanevaki.