The Maltese Islands lie as an archipelago of limestone on the African tectonic plate. The limestone was deposited in the sea between 8 and 20 million years ago, so this is a very young landscape.
At the end of the last ice age, Malta was landlocked with Sicily due to the low sea level, and they are considered one unit geologically (even though Malta doesn’t have any vulcanos). When the waves break against the limestone, the most beautiful formations are formed, so here you just have to grab your snorkel and start exploring!
We had read about 2 great snorkeling attractions in the far north of the island of Malta, and they had to be checked out: The Blue Hole and Coral Lagoon.
We dare not think about the reactions these stone towers would have caused in Iceland, where cairn building is strictly prohibited. But we agree with the Icelanders: It should be possible to go for a walk without leaving a trace!
It was only a few hundred meters to walk from the car park before we reached the blue hole, no problem with that. But the opening? Knut had read somewhere that you could swim into it. We went back and forth a few times, and also did some googling, before we looked down into the hole from the other side. There was an arch!
This was the start of a climbing hell. It turned out that the Blue Hole and the Coral Lagoon are the same spot (or actually, the “Blue Hole” tag in Google Maps is probably wrong, placed by someone who has mixed this up with the “Blue Hole” on Gozo). Both names are comprehensive, and when you climb on corals… Well, it’s ok with your shoes on, but we didn’t have wet socks or wet shoes. Warning: Do not walk barefoot on rocks that look like coral!
The next problem was the waves. A fresh breeze from the west was somewhat worrying, but we got into the sea, to the east of the opening, without any major problem. This is a great snorkeling spot!
Lagoon or hole? It doesn’t matter, we loved snorkeling there. We spotted fewer fish (and people) than expected, but the light was beautiful both above and below water. But of course, ‘lagoon‘ seams to be more extraordinary than ‘hole‘.
Well inside, as expected, the water was calm.
There where also caves to explore inside. Unfortunately, we didn’t bring any lights.
The return trip? Apart from the fact that we had forgotten to take notice of where our stuff was placed, it went almost completely well. We swam a hundred meters too far before going up, the dwellings were quite big, with bleeding hands and feet as a result.
But we didn’t regret it! We have never regretted a bath. Not yet!