It’s Nemo 33, 33 meters deep, the equivalent of an 11-story building! The super pool is located near Brussels, Belgium, and is used for tourist diving, training firefighters, military police and even underwater filming. In 1996, John Beernaerts, a civil engineer passionate about diving, had the idea of building a swimming pool that reproduced in Belgium the sea of Bora Bora, an island in the Pacific Ocean famous for its crystalline waters. It took three years of study and 21 sketches to reach the final project, inaugurated in 2004 at a cost of around 11 million reais. Since then, the pool has performed more than 100,000 baptisms (as beginner dives are called) and has not registered any accidents. Prices to go down the water vary: a one-hour “introductory” dive, with an instructor, costs 45 euros (about 108 reais). A more advanced option costs 90 euros (215 reais) per person and lasts two and a half hours, with a certificate at the end. But Nemo 33 has a competitor: in San Afonso Del Mar, Chile, there is a pool that is 35 meters deep, but it contains salt water, not fresh and drinkable water like Nemo. :-*
LOOKING FOR NEMO
World’s deepest pool has caves and even an underground restaurant
UP AND DOWN
The pool is 6 meters above ground level – the other 27 meters, equivalent to nine floors of a building, are underground. In addition to the swimming pool, Nemo 33’s entertainment complex has a terrace on the roof that serves as a bar and restaurant.
LEVEL 3
At 5 meters deep, there is a new platform, square, 8 meters on a side. This is where the so-called baptism takes place, an individual dive for beginners accompanied by an instructor
UNDERGROUND RANGE
There is also fun for those who don’t want to get wet. In the basement, there is a Thai restaurant with dishes that cost 14 euros (about 33 reais). In the restaurant, there are seven glass windows through which visitors can watch the divers in the human aquarium.
BREAK TIME
There are two underwater caves, with water at the bottom and a small space filled with breathable air at the top. The gaps are for rest and for the instructor to be able to talk to the students without having to go back to the surface. They house up to 50 people. The limit of divers in the pool is 50 per hour during the day and 30 per hour during the night, so as not to overcrowd the place.
LEVEL 4
The fourth pool platform is 10 meters deep, in an area 6 meters wide. Until here, it is allowed to dive without artificial respiration equipment. From here, the diver can enter the tunnel that leads to the two rest caves.
LEVEL 5
After completing all the stages, those who have completed the course can dive deep, up to 33 meters deep in a well measuring 6.05 meters in diameter. In the background, a wind rose shows which way is north.