Time to hit the sights, topside!

It was our final evening and so we planned a visit to the medieval city of Mdina.  Dinner that evening was to be at a restaurant a friend had recommended called Fontanella. After a quick freshen up, we headed to the the bus station, just 5 minutes’ walk from our hotel. Our picturesque bus journey to Mdina took around one hour and it was most definitely worth it!

Mdina sits atop a hill, surrounded by huge stone walls and protected by a deep moat. The city oversees many of the neighbouring towns and as we arrived the sun was slowly setting. Walking through the warm, narrow streets of the city was extremely atmospheric.  The views across the valley were simply breathtaking. Our table for two at Fontanella couldn’t have been more perfect, set in between the ramparts along the very edge of the city walls. We opted for the Mediterranean platter and it tasted wonderful!

Wandering back through the narrow streets, with the sunset and the moon in the sky, we felt very lucky to be able to spend time in such a truly stunning place.

Our last day!

The following day was our last day on Malta and the last day of our amazing trip. Our flight home didn’t leave until 11pm, so we booked a late check out of our room and headed for the bus station again. This time we headed towards the tiny capital city of Valletta. Friends had recommended we visit and, once again, we were so glad we did! The bus journey there took around 1.5 hours; we later found out we had caught the wrong bus!

Exploring Valletta

We spent the afternoon walking around the city sightseeing. It was another hot day, but the tall, old buildings provided some lovely shade. We made our way up to the upper Barrakka Gardens that overlook the huge, picturesque harbour. The gardens were beautiful and the viewpoints incredible. We spent ages just watching people and boats come and go!

For lunch, there were so many restaurants to choose from. Some had their own closed area with tables and others had their tables and huge umbrellas set out along the centre of pedestrianised streets. We chose one and ate a lovely lunch, talking about the wonderful places we had visited, the friendly locals we had met, and about our new diving experiences over the past few days. We had both had a truly brilliant few days on Gozo and Malta and wished we could have stayed longer!

Rather than endure a long bus journey back to Dolmen Hotel, we decided to book a Bolt car. Bolt – similar to Uber – is very popular on Malta. We downloaded the Bolt app and it was very easy to book a car and after walking to a meeting point, it arrived very quickly. The journey back took just 30 minutes and didn’t cost much more than two bus tickets.

What’s the diving like?

Dive sites on Gozo are accessed mostly from the shore. St Andrew’s Divers Cove has several vehicles and the drive time to most shore locations is around 30 minutes. When you arrive at the dive site, all vehicles are locked but it’s recommended you don’t take valuables with you ‘just in case’. The dive centre also has a boat, which is moored in Xlendi Bay or sometimes close to the ferry port.

Kitted up, we walked just five minutes from the dive centre to our entry point along the left side of Xlendi Bay. There are several different slopes down to a small rock platform, with metal steps to get into the sea.  BCD’s inflated, we walked carefully down the steps (quite slippery) into the sea where we put our fins on.

Our first day of diving!

Our dive started at 5m with a leisurely swim across Xlendi Bay. The sea was welcomingly warm and the visibility was amazing!  Fish life wasn’t abundant or markedly vibrant, but I was mightily impressed by the topography of the undulating seabed and the rock faces plunging into the Mediterranean. A lovely swim-through tunnel created wonderful lighting and great vis.

Dive two took us on a different route through the Bay. Finning our way to the opposite side, we dived with the stunning cliffs on our right shoulder, then crossed back for the second half of our dive. As we floated along, a handful of small fish swam by, with many stopping to feed off the algae-rich rockface. We passed beneath several overhangs, all beautifully lit where the bright Mediterranean sun penetrated through paper-thin cracks.  A couple of small, open caves were also explored.

My group was back at the dive centre by 3.30pm and changed in no time. Two lovely, relaxing dives were just what I needed and the perfect introduction to Gozo.

But where was Katy?

As it turned out, Katy didn’t finish until 6pm! Her instructor Andrew had tried to pack in as much as he could in the first day. Having done extremely well practising her underwater skills, he announced that she was a natural!

The diving in this area is quite typically Mediterranean and it reminded me a little of the Canaries. Plenty of caves, walls with overhangs and swim-throughs, and other interesting rock formations to explore. Many endemic species hide amongst them and it’s a good idea to take a dive light to illuminate the tiny cracks and crevices. Nudibranchs of all hues are a particular speciality here. But there’s also plenty of bigger species. This area really does have something for all divers!

How far are the dive sites?

The dive sites are typically situated a 10-80 minute boat ride from the centre. Diving here is for all levels, and most of the sites could cater for everyone from Open Water qualified to also offering plenty to see at 25/30m for those with Advanced or higher. All of our dives ended near/under the boat in a 5m area.

During my stay, the Adriatic was flat calm and the summer weather just the right mix of sun and cloud to be comfortable. On day three, the first dive included a cave with a lot of colourful sponges covering the entrance and roof. Afterwards, a tasty lunch at a small village was followed by a nice relaxing dive on a treasure hunt for seahorses again. But this time the highlight was a very compliant pair of cuttlefish that we stayed with for a good 10 minutes.