WE TRO QUARRY

WE TRO QUARRY

Text and photos ŁUKASZ METRYCKI

WETRO – ONE OF THE SAXON QUARRIES, LOCATED LESS THAN A 30 MINUTES DRIVE FROM THE BORDER CROSSING JĘDRZYCHOWICELUDWIGSDORF, IN THE TOWN OF SPROITZ. THE AREA IS RELATIVELY LARGE, AS IT STRETCHES FOR ALMOST HALF A KILOMETER LONG AND 140 M WIDE.

It is an extremely charming place, because the quarry is covered with trees along the coastline, which naturally contributed to the demarcation of the area for a diving base and a place for divers. The rich vegetation on the surface means that divers and their companions do not treat this place only as a dive site, but as a way to spend a free day. In addition to the main purpose of the expedition, i.e. immersion in the emerald water, we meet many picnic people and other visitors enjoying the beautiful surroundings.

The diving infrastructure itself is at a high level. The base works very dynamically: the filling of cylinders runs smoothly, and the vastness of the terrain results in the fact that even without arriving at the place at dawn, we will always find a place for ourselves and our equipment. Tables, pallets and shelter are prepared on the premises of the base, ideally suited to clear our "stuff". The base fee is 10 euros. Filling the cylinders costs 50 cents/litre. It is also possible to use other gases such as nitrox 32 (1 euro/litre) or 50 (2 euro/ litre), but also on request you can get trimix. For those who want to start their adventure with diving, there is also an offer of a course, among others, in the CMAS federation.

When we are ready, the time will come for the only and the most difficult aspect of diving on Wetro, namely, overcoming several dozen of very steep stairs, leading us to the platform on the water. For me, it was a special challenge due to the recent knee surgery. So these stairs, I will remember for a long time  The dive itself was already very pleasant. Across the basin, at a depth of several meters, we find a dike, which conventionally divides the quarry into two parts, the deeper and shallower ones. Admittedly, for less experienced divers, the first moment after jumping into the water can be a bit stressful, because we are immediately in the "deep water", but heading to the right, the depths become reachable even for OWD divers.

However, we initially went to the left to check the visibility at a depth of about 30 m. While up to 20 meters it was not delightful and ranged between 5 and 7 m, after exceeding about 25 m we saw a delightful "crystal" limited only by the power of our flashlights.

The water temperature did not surprise us, because while at the surface it was pleasant 21 degrees, so after 20 meters it fell to 7–5 degrees. In the "deeper area" you can meet many freshwater fish, but rather they should not draw our attention, because the rock formations along which we sailed were just spectacular and I immediately associated them with the underwater landscape of "our" beautiful lake Hańcza.

On the second dive, we went to the right, around the aforementioned dike. During this dive, we reached a depth of 20 m, but most of the time we held up to 10 meters. From underwater attractions, you can see a folding bike, a mannequin with a wheelbarrow "speaking" to empty chairs, as well as plaques commemorating Thomas – the long-time owner of the quarry, tragically deceased in Croatia after a deep dive. Coming back to the platform, we swam very shallowly, admiring the underwater forest, beautiful lilies and numerous perches and roaches at the very shoreline.

To sum up, the Wetro quarry is an ideal option for a day trip. Even considering the economic aspect with accommodation in Poland, it is not a problem to get to the place in the morning and enjoy the charms of this unique place. As for the dives themselves, I think that everyone will find something for themselves there. Photography enthusiasts will be attracted by the very good visibility and eye-catching water emerald, and technical divers will certainly be tempted by the depth of over 50 m, which can be reached on the left side of the dike. Entire families will be attracted by the opportunity to combine pleasant diving with a weekend picnic.

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