When your alarm goes off at 2:30 in the morning on a Saturday, it can only mean one thing – another diving adventure is about to begin! For one week in October, five of us swapped the increasingly dark and chilly UK (both above and below the surface) for a few days of Maltese sunshine, warmth, and blue seas.
We were picked up the next morning by Jonathan from Deep Blue Malta for our first day of diving. Our guide for the day was the brilliant and enthusiastic Amy, who has an uncanny ability to find nudibranchs the size of a grain of rice, much to the delight of our mate Ian (who wasn’t even on this trip, but Clive certainly appreciated Amy’s dedication… not that he’d ever admit he loves a nudibranch).
We kicked things off with two reef dives around the Gozo Ferry Terminal, about 15 metres deep. The visibility was fantastic, and the reefs were alive with octopuses, scorpionfish, dartfish, and groupers. A real highlight was the Cirkewwa Arch, with its beautiful swim-throughs and streams of tiny bubbles rising through the rock.
We couldn’t resist returning to Cirkewwa Reef the next day, this time for our first wreck of the trip: the Rozi, a tugboat sitting on the seabed and now home to marine life. On day three, our guide Mike took us to Valletta for a dive on the HMS Maori, a WWII British destroyer that was towed to sit just outside the shipway. The broken metal shapes now offer shelter for schools of fish, and we even saw a cuttlefish. The afternoon dive was, by local standards, “low visibility”. No problem for a group of UK divers! We explored the X-Lighter wreck, complete with a bathtub containing a bottle of wine and a stunning view of the massive crater created when the ship was sunk.
After more reefs and wrecks, our final dive day took us (but not our kit) to the impressive Um El Faroud, a huge oil tanker and one of Malta’s most famous wrecks. Once we sorted out our kit confusion (the “blue rack” did look awfully yellow at 7am, right, Jonathan?), we descended to explore the decks and engine room. The resident moray eel seemed slightly less impressed by our visit than we were. Our last dive held another highlight for Teresa, who befriended an Octopus (who looked a bit sceptical, holding on to its two rocks).
After our diving, we usually surfaced hungry – time to find the best local food! We might have found it at Zigumar, where the lobster soup and pasta were beyond delicious. We might not have mastered lobster-eating etiquette (no YouTube tutorials from us!) but definitely enjoyed it. Of course, a “pilgrimage” to Diana’s Pub was mandatory — cheers, Diana!
For our last day, we swapped wetsuits for walking shoes and explored Mdina, Malta’s ancient, walled city. The narrow stone streets and breathtaking views over the island were perfect to wind down after our dives and felt like stepping back in time. Right in the centre is St. Paul’s Cathedral, a beautiful Baroque church said to stand where the Apostle Paul met the Roman governor after being shipwrecked on the island. We took a quiet moment to look inside at the gorgeous ceiling paintings and marble floors.
What an incredible trip with perfect weather, safe diving, and unforgettable memories both above and below the surface. Huge thanks to Sally for organising everything, and to Jonathan, Amy, and Mike for looking after us so well.
We’ll be back, Malta.
– Chris
