We continue to be very lucky with the weather. Today is bright blue sky, upper 60s, and beautiful sunshine. We spent a considerable part of the morning sitting out on our balcony. It stays shady until early afternoon, so it is quite pleasant to sit out and watch the comings and goings in the bay and around the village.
For our friend Eve, here’s a couple of photos of divers gearing up and getting into the water. Xlendi Bay is a very popular dive site with several caves, including a tunnel cave that a diver can get through into a large cavern, and there are some sunken ship artificial reefs nearby.
Our desire today is for a boat tour of some of the seacoast. There is a water sport and boat hire place at the end of the bay. Yesterday we had talked with them. They offer a couple of short trips and we signed up for Trip B. The vendor said he needs at least 6 for a Trip B tour and took our phone number. It was late in the day so we didn’t really expect to hear from him. This morning we walked over and talked with him again to remind him that we were still interested. He said he’d call as soon as 4 others signed up.
That kept us at the apartment waiting for a phone call, but it was actually great to just sit and relax, do some reading, and play some games on an iPad. Christine spent most of the day doing financial planning research, which she really enjoys.
By 3:00, no phone call, so we decided to walk back over to the vendor stand and have a chat. We had agreed that we would try to get a tour for just the two of us by paying more. One of the owners, Terence, was there and he listened to our frustration and said he absolutely understood. He did say it is a little early in the season and that’s why there aren’t so many interested in a boat tour yet. Although we wanted the longer Trip B, he said he’d take us on the Trip A route, a much shorter route, but it goes to a few caves along the cliffs. We quickly agreed, and off we went. It was a private tour!
It’s always great to be out on the water and it makes Christine really happy.
We went out the mouth of the bay around a point to Ulysses Cave. All along the coastline there are a number of caves carved into the limestone. Nearly all of the caves then become something like blue grottos with luminescent water color that’s caused by the sun reflecting off the sandy limestone bottom.
We then went in the other direction past the watch tower along the coast where I walked. It was fun to see that area from the sea. We headed to a place called Tunnel Cave. The tunnel is a “window” through the rock into another small area that goes into a cave.
As you can see, the color of the water on the right side of the pictures above looks as if there is a neon light shining up. It’s an incredible effect.
Once through the “window” we went into Tunnel Cave on the left. The limestone has so many different facets and colors. The water is so clear and reflective of the sunlight. Terence said that a couple of days ago all the caves were crowded with jellyfish. There had been a big storm and the jellyfish were pushed into shore. They seek out colder water, too, and that’s why they congregate in caves. Also, with a decline in sea turtles, who feed on jellyfish, the jellyfish have fewer and fewer predators and become more prolific. We didn’t see any jellyfish in any of these caves this afternoon. And now I know why I saw so many jellyfish in Carolina’s Cave.
We motored a bit farther to see the very tall Ta’ Cenc’ cliffs. There is a small bay caved from the limestone which is where I ended my hike. Again, great to see it from the water and what imposing cliffs they are. And we could just make out Malta across the channel.
Then it was back to the mouth of the bay and back along the smooth limestone that I walked near the tower.
We went into our final cave, Katarina Cave. This one is just at the end of the point across the bay from us. It is a quite long cave and has a tunnel under the rock. This is where divers come to navigate through the tunnel opening underwater and into a large cavern. The tunnel then continues on through the rock and comes out into the bay near Carolina Cave where I went down the steep steps.
Although lasting only about 30 minutes, we feel we really got our money’s worth. Thinking back to the Blue Grotto on the Capri trip, which cost more than this ride for just a few minutes, we really lucked out, and we didn’t have to climb into a wobbly little dinghy to get through a hole in the rock. Terence was nice to have taken just the two of us, so he got a big tip since he only charged us the ordinary rate. We were very appreciative.
This evening we had a great dinner at the Pirate’s Galley sitting at a table beside the bay. Afterwards, we sat at the end of the bay enjoying an ice cream bar and watching the sunset.
We then strolled around the end of the bay to see even more of the sunset.
And final views from our balcony.
We had a lovely day, restful, relaxing, with boating, and good eating. What’s not to like??!!
