I arrived on Malta the same day as Brad Pitt. He was there to begin filming Troy. I was there to go scuba diving, kayaking and rock climbing. And if our paths crossed, all the better.
Malta, which joined the European Union on May 1, has often been overlooked by North American travellers. But the sun-kissed Mediterranean island group has long been known to sunworshipers and filmmakers-- in addition to Troy, other films, including Gladiator, The Count of Monte Cristo and Swept Away, have been shot here. Malta (the largest island at 320 square kilometers), Gozo and tiny Comino make up the archipelago, which is about 90 kilometers south of Sicily.
And while many new arrivals disembark from cheap charters and head straight to the beach, Malta is also an undiscovered adventure hot spot, and this is what I was after. Stretched out before me were the archipelago's turquoise waters, copious grottos and coves and soaring limestone cliffs, all of which offer a veritable feast of land and sea activities.
Given the island's crystal-clear waters, scuba diving seemed a natural starting point. While I was diving off Marfa Point, I felt something tug on my hand. Turning my head-- and hoping not to see a great white shark which are known to lurk in these waters-- I was relieved to find the hand of Martin Vella, the owner of Subway Scuba Diving School, gesturing to a plum-purple sponge attached to the underside of the jagged coral. The last time I breathed oxygen from a tank I was in the murky waters of New York's Cayuga Lake, so the rainbow wrasse and slinky fire worms off Marfa Point were a refreshing sight.
The Maltese archipelago serves up a slew of shore and boat dives, and what the Mediterranean lacks in natural coral reef it makes up for with crystal-clear waters and fascinating wrecks, such as the WWII British Destroyer-the HMS Maori-submerged 15 meters off Valletta, Malta's capital.
But on needn't plumb the depths to enjoy the maritime offerings. Skimming the water's surface afforded ample amusement or relaxation, depending on one's propensity for adventure. On one particularly lazy day, I pondered the pressing question: Sailing or kayaking? I studied the water for ripples. None. So I grabbed a white canoe (which the Maltese call "kayak") resting upside down on the beach and slipped beyond the shiny yachts moored in San Nicklaw Bay.
The WatersportsCenter at the Comino Hotel and Bungalows is the epicenter of activity on tiny CominoIsland, a filming location for Troy. (Pitt toured Comino via a private yacht with his wife, Jennifer Anniston, during a rare break from filming.)
One can choose from a flotilla of canoes, two-person sit-on-top kayaks (you guessed it, referred to as "canoes" by the Maltese), Lasers, Hobicats, and windsurfs. Our destiny was Rabbit's Nest, a protected southern bay framed by 100-foot cliffs that open into mysterious sea-level caves. We glided past the pleasure boats in the Blue Lagoon, a popular inlet for the sun-seeking crowd who come to swim in its impossibly turquoise water, and rounded the bend to explore the grottoes in the bay.
The arched caves-- some with sufficient clearance for good-sized motoboats-- provided a cool respite from the searing Mediterranean sun. A sandy beach awaited at the end of one horseshoe-shaped grotto, lapping water and total privacy completing the scene.
While the archipelago's waters offer the most obvious adventure options, Malta does provide some worthy climbing on beautiful limestone rock in picturesque coastal valleys. The sea cliffs, however, are composed of loose rock, making climbing treacherous, though there is one bolted route: the Blue Wall, a steep, exposed climb along the Dingli Cliffs on the western coast of Malta.
Bernard Bonnici, co-owner of Malta Outdoors, and I worked our way through the underbrush and pines in Wied Babu (wied means "valley" in Maltese), an arid chasm on Gozo that leads to the sea. The valley's cliffs offers a handful of bolted sport climbs established by the Brits when they maintained a naval base on the island. ManziraValley in Gozo and Victoria Lines on Malta are other climbing options. Buffeted by the wind, the apex of the limestone cliffs on Gozo looked as if it had been re-upholstered in yards of luxurious suede, but to the touch it's as hard and smooth as packed sand.
We began the coastal trek in Xlendi-a quaint fishing village on Gozo's southern coast, where snorkelers and fishing boats bob in the bay, and followed the footpath across a ravine to a bluff still protected by a watchtower built by the Knights of St. John, a Christian religious order that ruled Malta for nearly 300 years. The eight-kilometer trek to the village of Mgarr Ix-Xini takes you past saltpans, moonscape boulders, and ramshackle stone huts erected by the legions of bird hunters who emerge locked and loaded from the thicket. Trekkers can stop for a cocktail at the Ta' Cenc Hotel, a luxurious resort perched above the sea.
We soon reached Dwerja on the western coast of Gozo. In a seaside parking lot, pasty British tourists milling about while Bonnici and I strapped slings and ropes around our torsos and hulky scuba divers donned tanks and masks. Pointing to my harness, one German diver remarked: "You go up, we go down."
Actually we were planning to go down as well, but from higher perch. Our descent began from the top of the Azure Window, a huge hole cut into the limestone precipice. Boulders atop the geological formation provided bomber anchors for the 25-meter rappel. Inching off the cliff edge, I surrendered to the salty sea air and admired the midday sun glinting off the water. Positioning the end of the rope a meter above the sea, we then pluned into the water, and were reunited us with our aquatic brethren on the rocky bank.
Of course, if your tastes lean toward a simple dip in the blue, Malta does not disappoint. The northwestern tip of Malta has some of the finest harborswhite sand beaches surrounded by stunning rocky cliffs-- the Mediterranean has to offer. In addition to tourists, an international roster of filmmakers like Guy Ritchie and Ridley Scott have been lured to Malta, in part, for its natural beauty. The stunning GoldenBay and GhajnTuffiehaBay (a location for Troy) are two ideal spots for swimming, windsurfing, sailing or merely taking in the island's splendor. |
