One of the best days out in Malta has to be our trip to Gozo, in particular the stop at the Azure Window. Winding our way down the bumpy, pot-holed road atop the Hop On, Hop Off bus revealed the huge limestone landscape backed by the Mediterranean Sea.

On the left was the large, free standing Fungus Rock, so called as it has an abundance of a fungus much treasured by the defending forces of the knights of St. John during one of Malta’s many sieges. The fungus was believed to have strong medicinal healing properties.

To the right stands the Azure Window itself, a huge archway projecting into the sea and really is something to see. Just in front of the this is Gozo’s very own blue hole created by natural erosion and descending into the waters to a depth of 60m. This was the entry point for one of my best dives in Malta. We descended the Blue Hole, swam through a hole in wall at about 6m and continued through the Azure Window. Looking up you can see the shadow of the rock as you pass underneath as well as feeling the drop in temperature due to the sheltering from the sun. The dive continued along the rock wall with huge drop offs leading to the clear blue, through cracks and up a narrow tunnel, into a small cave with stunning views of the light filtering through the water.

Getting of the bus we just stood and surveyed the landscape for a while attempting to take it all in. Then came the walk up and over the Azure Window itself revealing a very different perspective of the vista. Beautiful.