big fans of gozo and comino

 

so … to be honest, i had no idea what or where malta was before i moved to london.
when ian and i first looked up some photos and info about this unique place, we were instantly allured. in early june, as we walked together out of the testing venue where ian had just completed taking the second round of the cfa exam, i told my hard-working husband that i thought we should take a baby-free trip to malta to celebrate.
he was so excited about that idea!

and it turns out that malta is a total wonderland! it quickly became one of our all-time favourite travel destinations. our quick weekend there was filled with beauty and adventure.

we are really lucky that we were able to leave moses with someone we hugely trust and totally love – my cousin aubrey, who is currently a master’s student at oxford. on our way to the airport we both kept feeling like we were missing something important – like our baby maybe?! ;) we honestly both worried that we would just be missing moses like crazy the entire trip, but we were able to focus on each other and enjoy baby-free time, and it was awesome.

we spent saturday on the islands of gozo and comino (just north of the main island of malta) and we totally fell in love with that place.

^^ ^^ a couple of snaps from our b&b, which we loved. it was so charming and rustic. ^^ ^^

^^ the town of qala from afar. and there are so many cacti in malta! ^^

^^ the famous blue lagoon of comino from afar. ^^

we took a boat from ^^ hondoq bay ^^ to comino. after a couple of hours we came back to this same swimming spot and had so much fun jumping in and swimming around.

^^ this rock outcropping is said to be shaped like an elephant. can you see it? ^^

 

^^ ^^ ^^ our boat driver took us into a bunch of caves along the perimeter of comino and it was so cool! ^^ ^^ ^^

^^ it was super windy that day, so the ocean was rough and we got pretty wet on the boat ride! ^^

^^ i mean, the colour of that water!! (insert heart eye emojis here) ^^

^^ overlooking the blue lagoon. so uniquely stunning! ^^

^^ we walked along the edge of the island of comino a bit and were just blown away by the beauty of the water and the islands. ^^

^^ we came across this swimming spot, which was was much less crowded than the actual blue lagoon, and it was so fun to jump in that amazing water and swim back into some caves and just enjoy the amazing landscape together. ^^

^^ we swam deep back into that cave and were the only ones in there for a while. it was so cool (and romantic)! ^^

^^ this is where parts of the movie the count of monte cristo were filmed. ^^

^^ cannot believe i was swimming through that water a few days ago! ^^
 
^^ we took a quick dip in the actual blue lagoon (which had gotten so crowded!) and then took a boat back to hondoq bay. ^^
 
^^ there’s these really fun platforms that are good for jumping off of at hondoq bay. we jumped off a few times and also enjoyed watching others dive, flip and cannon ball of of them. we especially loved seeing this cute little boy work up the courage to jump off. he reminded us of a bigger version of moses! ^^

after we got our fill of swimming, we drove all around the island of gozo exploring. about every five minutes i asked ian to stop the car so i could hop out and snap a picture or two, haha! i was beckoned by majestic churches on hills overlooking the deep blue ocean, quiet quaint streets bathed in sunshine, cactus filled valleys, bougainvillea framed doors and windows … that place is truly a wonderland!
  
^^ we happened upon some salt pans and learned a little bit about how they are used to extra sea salt from the ocean. ^^

^^ the real destination of our wandering drive was the azure window/blue hole area. unfortunately just a few months ago, the azure window (a magnificent natural arch along the coast) collapsed! we were sad to learn that when planning our trip, but still excited to see the cliffs in the area and swim in the blue hole (a pool of ocean surrounded by rocks just below the azure window). the ocean was far too rough that windy day to allow us a dip in the hole, but we still enjoyed scrambling along the rocks and taking in all the tumultuous beauty around. ^^

^^ here’s what this same area looked like earlier this year (on a calm day)! (image via) ^^

^^ looking the other direction along the curve of the island. ^^

we ended our day exploring the city of victoria. ^^
   
^^ while wandering the narrow, pretty streets of victoria, we came across some locals that invited us to try some of the cactus fruit they were peeling (yum!). they also showed us this door on which they’d pinned all their grandchildren’s artwork. this was probably the highlight of my day. i just love meeting new people in new places and getting a little glimpse into their lives. ^^
 
^^ just as we were leaving, the lights strung arcross the streets came on! ^^

gozo and comino, we are your newest huge fans!