Today we are visiting Blue Grotto, the fishing village of Marsaxlokk and Ghar Dalam caves in a small group with a tour guide in an air-conditioned minivan.
This is the only tour we booked prior to the holiday via Viator.com.
Setting off at 9.30am and after collecting a small group of other tourists from their hotels, we set off to the Blue Grotto.
Johanna, our tour guide explained the history of Malta and pointed out the sites as we drove by. It’s like getting an additional guided tour of Malta.
To get to the Blue Grotto is an additional payment paid at the site itself. The only reason being if it is bad weather or too windy, then the boats are unable to take us.
Fortunately, it was good condition for sailing albeit being a wee bit choppy.
Knowing my luck, I had the most flirtatious boat guide ever! It would have been cute if he was my type.
If you can’t swim – have no fear – we are all equipped with lifejackets. And a fair warning for those prone to sea sickness, bring some tablets with you cause it was a bumpy ride.
Needless to say, the Blue Grotto was amazing and the light blue waters were just fantastic!
I wish we had more time to actually jump into the water. It looked so inviting! The whole experience took us approx 20 mins before we rushed back to the van.
Again it was a steep climb up but the ever useful golf buggy was present for a Euro ;).
The next destination was the Ghar Dalam Caves and Museum. Don’t be fooled by the seemingly normal outlook of the entrance…there’s more than meet the eye here.
You start off in an informative museum and then move across to an exhibition showing literally thousands of bones that have been discovered in the cave.
These cacti seem to thrive almost everywhere around Malta and Gozo.
The cave itself is charming but very short. The walk is cut short by a sign that informs you the remainder of the cave system is off limits.
It was a shame, cause you are expecting head lights and go further in but you are explained where the fossils were found. There are also stalactites and stalagmites forming here and there.
So I was picturing myself as Indiana Jane exploring these caves hoping to find gold and treasures ha!
After the caves, we visited the museum to see the animal bones they have found within the caves. This below is a drawf elephant!
Next, we zoomed off towards the fishing village of Marsaxlokk for a spot of lunch. We were crammed into a massive room filled with other people from various tours.
But the food was actually not too bad for a tour – we were provided with Maltese white wine – a hearty fish soup as a starter and bread.
The main course was steamed whole fish which was a bit bony for me accompanied by fries and coleslaw which wasn’t incredibly fresh but edible nonetheless, and dessert was a massive piece of profiterole haha! I was expecting maybe a traditional Maltese dessert but it was tasty.
Just take a gander at that view!
After lunch, we only had 45 minutes to explore the location. If I am honest, I haven’t a clue what was around us.
Walking along these boats is just a photographers dream. Such a pretty location and along the bay area are cluttered with outdoor restaurants and souvenier stalls.
This is the Marsaloxx Parish Church opened till 12.30pm during weekdays.
I absolutely adore these aprons with local recipes, there’s another with a recipe for Rabbit Stew!
Oh if you are curious, Lampuki is a type of fish haha.
What we didn’t realise was that we could have paid a fisherman to take us to St Peter’s pool. The whole trip could have been half an hour, well within our time limit!
There’s also a sandy beach about a couple of miles from this location, so bring your swimsuits if you fancy a quick dip!
Managed to take a quick snap of the vineyards along the way.
We had a pit stop here for toilet and take pictures of this beautiful Birzebbuga church.
Our last stop was the UNESCO world heritage site of The Tarxien Temples. It is noticeably smaller than Hagar Qim in my previous post here. And rather being on top of a hill, this location is the middle of a residential area at present.
Very similar doorway to the Hagar Qim structures.
This trip didn’t come with an audio guide but our tour guide explained everything regarding its history and how they found animal bones and these circular patterns on a few of the stones.
We spent around an hour here and to be honest, I was relieved to be back in the souvenir store at the main entrance; it was boiling!
However, it was an interesting experience hearing about the history and I still can’t fathom how old these structures are!
Arriving back at our hotel around half 4pm, after a quick change and a shower. We head out to this beaut of a bar just outside our hotel.
Why? Cause it is happy hour, two for one drinks till 6pm! Yes, please!!!
This is the Blue Lagoon cocktail. You know something, they know how to make drinks here! It may be reasonably priced but goodness me, they are strong!! Taste damn good too!
Obviously, we had to order the Calamari. It’s practically a must! Big portion, very crispy and succulent.
Kind of cute in a weird way haha. They serve them whole! It’s like a mini octopus.
Speaking of octopus, we also ordered the octopus ragu pasta. And it was seriously sooooo good! I cannot remember the last time I had pasta this good, and it came with a generous amount of tentacles too! They were definitely not rubbery and if you never tried octopus, try it.
Just look at that juicy piece of tentacle…mmmmm….it was tender!
You know something, I will seriously miss waking up to this view every day. We are exploring Valetta tomorrow before our flight in the evening. And munching in the oldest restaurant cafe in Malta.
What’s a holiday without more food eh 😉
Cocktail bar: The Compass lounge
Courtney xx
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