The heart and vision behind Cidade Velha Diving. Two different journeys, one shared dream by the ocean.
Co-Founder of Cidade Velha Diving & PADI Master Scuba Diver Trainer
Tony has been passionate about diving since his teenage years, and today he's the heart behind Cidade Velha Diving. More than an instructor, he's the soul of this project—guiding divers not only underwater, but through meaningful, transformative experiences.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Tony co-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.
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.
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.
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.
Co-Founder of Cidade Velha Diving
Leslie has always lived between two worlds. On one side, technology, strategy, and entrepreneurship. A software engineer by profession, she has spent much of her life building systems, developing businesses, and turning ideas into reality. On the other, a deep curiosity for personal growth, yoga, and experiences that connect us with ourselves and with nature.
When she discovered diving—and later, Cape Verde—both worlds came together in an unexpected way.
Together with Tony, she found the opportunity to create something special: a dive center where adventure, nature, and human connection are just as important as the dives themselves.
While Tony brings his passion for teaching and decades of experience in the ocean, Leslie has built much of the world behind Cidade Velha Diving, from its digital presence and strategy to the systems and organization that allow people from all over the world to discover this little corner of Cape Verde.
But what inspires her most is seeing how the ocean transforms people. She believes the sea, much like yoga and other personal growth practices, has a unique way of helping us slow down, breathe, overcome fears, and reconnect with ourselves and with what truly matters.
For Leslie, Cidade Velha Diving is much more than a dive center. It is the place where her two greatest passions meet: creating and connecting. A project built with love for the ocean, people, and the belief that the most meaningful experiences are the ones that change us, even if only a little, from the inside.