Life's a Beach

Well, I'm a little late on this one as beach season is well over, but Allison and I were dipping in the sea as late as October....

It seems that most people know very little about Malta. I know I had to look it up once I found out we were moving here. But one idea everybody seems to have is that it is exotic and beachy. While I already mentioned how little of Malta's coast is actually beach-like, it still manages to do a decent job in living up to its reputation. Sadly, this September has turned out to be abnormally cool here in Malta so our beach going was a bit limited, but we still made the most of the time that we had.
         
                                                      ***Click Photos to Enlarge***

Golden Bay, with large hotels along the coast

Allison had occasion to briefly visit, but not swim at, Golden Bay, one of the major beaches on the island. It's quite nice except for the giant resorts dominating the side and the techno-blasting cafe along the back edge. On the opposite side stands an old guard tower and on the far side of that is another beach,  Għajn Tuffieħa which is probably the most scenic one in Malta and which we would visit a few weeks later.





The clear winner for most uninspiring beach is at Mellieħa Bay. Rented umbrellas dominate the cove from one end to the other, interrupted only by the various snack bars. The water is a pretty blue, but overall it's not much to look at.  For families though, Mellieħa and its clear, shallow waters would certainly be the most convenient.

Allison relaxing at crowded Mellieha Bay

Umbrellas as far as the eye can see

Previously mentioned, Għajn Tuffieħa lies on the far side of Golden Bay. It requires a little walk to get to but is more than worth the effort. This picturesque beach sits under a ring of cliffs and steep hills stretching from end to end. On the right lies the guard tower visible on the Golden Bay side and on the left, a large rock formation perches atop the hills with plenty of walking paths to make your way up there. To reach the beach you round a corner leading to a long flight of stairs and a gorgeous view of the whole cove. Why more people don't come to this little unspoiled corner is beyond me, but I'm glad that they don't.

First look at the beach

John, Whitney, and Allison

It was a double red flag day, but we swam anyway

Strolling along the rocks

The far side...

... which we also hiked up

One of the most popular beach spots is the Blue Lagoon, located on the small island of Comino which itself sits between Malta and Gozo. We arrived relatively early which is a good thing because every nook and cranny of the small waterfront here is quickly occupied by sun-seekers. The lagoon quite lives up to its name as the water is about as crystal blue as possible. We were mostly shocked at just how many people come to this small place. Boatload after boatload of tourists arrived at the dock and spread throughout the rocky pathways and coastline like ants covering a dropped piece of candy.

Water taxi to Comino

View from our rented chairs

higher up

nature

Even higher. Tiny Cominitto boarders the lagoon on the far side.

lots of people

Other than a quick hop in the sea sometime in mid-October, the first of the month was the last time we really went swimming. We along with friends Dee, Erin and Noah took a trip to the Blue Grotto, where a boat tour takes you through a series of caves. It was mildly impressive although it had the feeling of a cheesy Disney attraction. We were loaded 3x3 into a small boat, taken along the shore to examine the shallow caves and back to port all in about 20 minutes. Although not really a beach spot, we decided to make the most of our time there and jumped in further down the small cove where the boats set out from.

on a boat

in a cave

boat man

the approach

Alli swimming

Well there you have it. A quick tour of some of Malta's beachy highlights. We'll definitely look forward to expounding on this come May when the weather, and more importantly the water, heats back up.