Gym's Ramblings: Blue Grottos and Blue Holes

On October 25th and 26th, 2017, we packed up some towels and our snorkelling gear and headed off to see some unique geomorphological features and to swim in the Mediterranean Sea. These two, day-trips took us in opposite directions and to the furthest reaches of the Maltese Islands. We purchased a two-day City Tours bus pass, that included a ferry transfer for the trip to Gozo on the second day. We have ridden on these Hop On-Hop Off buses many times before, in places such as Barcelona and London and they not only get you around, you can plug in and listen to the pre-recorded discourse on sights that the buses pass by as you make your way along a given bus route. You can therefore learn from the recorded tour guides or you can just sit on the open top floor of these double-decker buses and take in the sunshine with the sites, sounds and smells of the streets below. Then, you can get off anywhere you want along the route to explore individual sites on foot.

The Gym Clan had two specific sites that we wanted to see and they were at opposite ends of the islands. The first was the Blue Grotto on the south end of Malta and this trip involved transferring from one bus route to another in Valletta. This was fine because we saw lots of new areas and got a very good feel for the countryside around the capital city but it took us all day. The whole trip is only a few kilometers there and back as the crow flies. If you google walking distances from the Westin Dragonara to the Blue Grotto you should get there in 3 hours and 15 minutes which is about the same as it took us to travel by bus, connecting in Valletta.

I wouldn't recommended walking that far around here though because Malta is not very pedestrian friendly. Where sidewalks exist, they are narrow and crossing the streets is somewhat dicey, to say the least. In addition, in order to drive in Malta, you have get a James Bond Driver's Certificate. Essentially, you race around the urban areas with inches to spare on either side and must be prepared to stop on a dime so you don't flatten a stray cat or a Canadian that thinks he has the right-of-way. Then if you can do this without damaging the car, the driver instructor lets you pass. Even the bus drivers drive this way and they are really good because they have to watch that they don't clip a second floor balcony as they roar through town.

The Blue Grotto is a series of caves that have been eroded out of the cliffs on the southern shore of the island of Malta. The bus carried us off of the plateau and down a windy road to the little hamlet of Wied iz-Zurrieq. The road itself actually sits above the caves and it descends past a series of dive shops and restaurants to a neat little natural harbour. It is in that little cove that you can can board one of the the colorful fishing boats and travel underneath the cliffs and into several of the caves including a large one called the Blue Grotto. The multi-coloured strata of the cliffs and the white sand which covers the sea bottom of the caves gives the water a bright blue tone. It was well worth the 8 euros each to see the caves and to experience the way the fishermen expertly maneuver those boats in and out of those tight caves. After the boat ride we swam in the cove where the water was clear and it was possible to dive down near the bottom.

The second day was even more travel time on a series of buses, with a 1/2-hour ferry ride thrown in for good measure. Our goal on Gozo was the former site of the Azure Window. This landmark collapsed just last March, in stormy waters, after centuries of erosion had undermined the natural land bridge that was so well photographed by visitors over many decades. You can hardly tell that the 30-meter high, natural arch was even there anymore because not only did the land bridge fall but the pedestal holding up the bridge also collapsed into the sea. We walked out to view the former site of the landmark and the Blue Hole that exists between the viewpoint and the what was once the Azure Window. Then we went to the Inland Sea that exists in a low area nearby that sea water flows into from another long cave from the area behind the ridge. The water here was nice to swim in but not as clear as one would have hoped and the beaches were rather rocky and uncomfortable to walk on.

Gozo, in general has a different feel than Malta. It seems less crowded and the villages are situated on the hilltops with farms in the wide valleys that are green and lined with a patchwork of terraced cropland that is lined with retaining walls that hug the contours. The warm honey-colored limestone is everywhere as it divides the various farm plots and all the buildings on the island are also constructed out of it. Riding on the top of the bus you can smell the pungent odor of some of the livestock in the valleys but you can also smell fragrant odors from certain crops that are grown in the rich Gozo soils.

As Gym writes this post we are preparing to exit Malta and the clan is packing up. The GXY Group will be flying with Gym and Mrs. Gym as far as Istanbul tonight. Then Nicole, George and Chris will be connecting to Frankfurt and from Frankfurt home to Calgary, to return to their careers on Monday. Gym and Mrs. Gym will divert to Athens from Istanbul and will board a cruise ship for another week or so to end up in Rome, Italy. Gym will continue to post blogs from the Ms. Marina until November 7th when the baby boomers must also return to Calgary.

Stay tuned!

Pics from October25, 2017: