Neither of us had slept wonderfully well (the click of the air conditioning kicking in was quite loud), but we stayed in bed until 9am, which was a bit luxurious. We got ready slowly, and got downstairs for breakfast before 10am (it finished at 10.30). I hadn't been sure whether I'd be able to eat much, but I managed a decent breakfast. It was tasty. Michael and I had a brief conversation about the Australian election. I made my views clear, but didn't quite work out what his were.
Christian and I packed for our day out (including leaving the SLRs behind and packing our phones in the waterproof box), and headed back downstairs for our 11am rendez vous. By the time everyone was there, it was predictably late, but it was a short walk to the closest side of St Julian's harbour. We walked down to the dock, and there was a large black RHIB, and two more sedate white launches with forward-facing seats. Christian and I ended up on the RHIB. There were padded seats down the middle, and so we didn't have to sit on the edges.
We pootled out of the harbour, and then the skipper jumped on the throttle and switched on the deafening dance music. It was fun for a while, but got a bit much with everyone shouting and the wind beating in my ears as well. We headed in the general direction of Gozo, but stopped off near Comino on the way to look at some caves, driving up into one of them that had a beach at the end - pretty cool - and to look at the crystal lagoon. We kept on to Gozo, and the two other boats were waiting for us, having not stopped off apparently. We joined them on the pier, next to the giant ferry on the other side.
Emma had arranged for a bus tour to the town and the beach for €10 pp. Christian and I decided we didn't want to go to the town, and so we decided to get a taxi to the beach at Ramla l-Hamra for €4 pp, along with four others. The drive was nice enough, though going through the town was a bit scary, what with narrow roads, oncoming traffic, and unannounced road closures. We got out of the nastiness, and headed downhill to the beach. The driver agreed to pick us up at 1.40 so we'd be back at the harbour for our 2pm departure.
The beach didn't look like much. It had orange sand, and no waves. But it was quite large. We found a spot and ran into another splinter group, including Sab, Ron, and James, who'd also got a taxi. Christian and I got our snorkelling gear out and headed for the water, moving up slightly to avoid the rocks. It was quite warm and the water was crystal clear. We pointed our faces at the bottom. The coral and the fish were a revelation to me. The coral wasn't too exciting, but it was only in a couple of metres of water, so clearly visible, and the fish were plentiful and not shy. Many were silver with black tails, but there were some beautiful purple and yellow ones, and some beautiful stripy ones feasting on the coral. A bit further out, it got deeper and more interesting. I did a few duck dives to look closer. We didn't have fins, but it didn't matter, I was able to float on the surface with no effort, and cover distance with a lazy breaststroke. It was heavenly.
We had to get out in order to dry out for the taxi. James had borrowed Christian's mask and snorkel, and the snorkel somehow died. So Christian went up to the shop to buy another. I did my best to dry out, and got burnt. Christian came back, having paid €18 for a mask and snorkel, and then it was time to go. We found the taxi driver, and our four companions, and headed back to the harbour with no issues.
As not everyone was there, we got an ice cream. We then boarded the RHIB again, this time at the back, and headed off to Comino, going through a narrow opening in the rock on the way for fun. The blue lagoon on Comino was packed, and as we got off into the relentless heat, with no space, and no possibility of shade, I felt uncomfortable. We found some lunch and cowered on the shady side of the public toilets to eat it, watching the lizards. From that vantage point, we could see a nicer place to go swimming, and headed for it. We left our gear on the very sharp rocks, and submerged ourselves. It was less clear here, because there was so much more activity, but it was still pleasant. I couldn't help wishing we could have stayed on Gozo for longer.
Time got away, and so we had to get out, and walk back to the pier. All the Rackers met up, and waited for the boats. The RHIB came first, and so we got on (again at the back) and departed. Christian pointed out how sunburnt I was. I'd put cream on my face, shoulders, and what of my back that I could reach, but had forgotten to ask Christian to do the rest. We roared off back to St Julian's harbour, with the skipper throwing in some tight corners and racing jetskis just to liven things up. He then had to try to fix one of the motors, which had lost its fuel injection and so was only operating on two-stroke. He said we only got back by the grace of god. We pulled into St Julian's harbour, but early, and so he changed his mind, and went back out into the open sea to do some figure eights and 360s. It was such a manoeuvrable boat.
Back at the dock, Mark and Christian tipped the skipper and we walked back up to the hotel. Christian and I didn't even bother going to our room. We went straight to the main pool and got in. It would have been rude not to make use of the wet bar, and so we sat on the submerged seats - I had a vodka and cranberry juice, and Christian had a gin and tonic. There were quite a few other Rackers around. After we'd finished our drinks, we got out and headed for the lido.
There were a couple of other people around. We donned our masks and snorkels and got in. It felt cold to start with, but in reality it was warmer than the main pool. The water was quite deep, with a fair bit of movement, but there was coral on the bottom, and a good number of fish. It was a different feeling from the beach, as the environment was more expansive. There were steel frame things and bits of concrete on the bottom, and I got an inkling of what it felt like as a diver to see a wreck. The fish were similar to the ones at the beach, but Christian thinks he saw a lion fish, and we saw two very large fish that looked a bit like tuna, but Christian said they were probably sea bream. I did a couple of duck dives. It was a lovely experience.
We got out, and got into the first of the saltwater pools. It was warm, and pleasant. But then we spotted the slide. We had to get out and go to the higher of the two pools, but it was fun. Christian did it twice. We went back up to the main pool to 'rinse the salt off' (?) and got some beers at the bar. We chatted to Andy and Mark. And Andy's daughter Georgie. She wanted to know why Christian wasn't going to eat the lime in his beer. She had also decided that ladies don't drink beer, despite the fact that her mother was drinking some. Then she thought Christian falling off his stool was hilarious, and wanted him to do it again. So I 'pushed' him off and he did a melodramatic disappearing under the water. She roared at that.
It was time to go, and so we took our gear upstairs and had showers. I'd thought it would be nice to go into Valletta for dinner, but it turned out to be a journey on the bus of over an hour, and 20 mins in a car. We abandoned that, and decided to do what Christian had preferred, which was to eat in one of the hotel's impressive looking restaurants. So we chose the barbecue buffet over the a la carte bistro, walked in, and were seated outside in the balmy evening.
We ordered a glass of prosecco each, and started with antipasto, including marinated calamari, spinach tart, salmon, cheeses, cold meats, salad, and bread. It was a perfect amount. We then had some mussels. I had the traditional ones in white wine, and Christian had Spanish style, with chorizo. We had to ask for finger bowls, but they were very good. We ordered a bottle of beaujolais to have with the mains, and headed for the barbecue. I had swordfish, tuna, beef, and pork belly, with salads. It was extremely good. Then it was time for dessert. We had a selection of petit four style treats, such as white chocolate delight, a choc mint mousse, apple and cinnamon mousse, pistacchio and mascarpone cake/mousse, and a rich chocolate mousse cake (can't remember all their pretentious names). Then Christian had a coffee. We couldn't finish the wine.
It was a lovely dinner, and a perfect end to an awesome day. It was peaceful and relaxed, and we talked about prospective wedding plans. :-)
We wandered back upstairs, and Christian was keen to go for a walk, and a late night swim. My swimmers were still quite wet, and so I wasn't keen, but I engineered a plan to wear pants and a top. We wandered back down to St Julian's beach, choosing a path beside the water that resulted in a dead end, which meant that I clambered over a railing, and Christian walked through the water, but we got to the beach in the end. It was difficult getting in, but not too cold actually. We had a bit of cuddly mooching in the water, and then, having proved our point, made our way back to the hotel, where we had another shower. We did most of the packing, and got in bed at about 11pm.
Christian and I packed for our day out (including leaving the SLRs behind and packing our phones in the waterproof box), and headed back downstairs for our 11am rendez vous. By the time everyone was there, it was predictably late, but it was a short walk to the closest side of St Julian's harbour. We walked down to the dock, and there was a large black RHIB, and two more sedate white launches with forward-facing seats. Christian and I ended up on the RHIB. There were padded seats down the middle, and so we didn't have to sit on the edges.
We pootled out of the harbour, and then the skipper jumped on the throttle and switched on the deafening dance music. It was fun for a while, but got a bit much with everyone shouting and the wind beating in my ears as well. We headed in the general direction of Gozo, but stopped off near Comino on the way to look at some caves, driving up into one of them that had a beach at the end - pretty cool - and to look at the crystal lagoon. We kept on to Gozo, and the two other boats were waiting for us, having not stopped off apparently. We joined them on the pier, next to the giant ferry on the other side.
Emma had arranged for a bus tour to the town and the beach for €10 pp. Christian and I decided we didn't want to go to the town, and so we decided to get a taxi to the beach at Ramla l-Hamra for €4 pp, along with four others. The drive was nice enough, though going through the town was a bit scary, what with narrow roads, oncoming traffic, and unannounced road closures. We got out of the nastiness, and headed downhill to the beach. The driver agreed to pick us up at 1.40 so we'd be back at the harbour for our 2pm departure.
The beach didn't look like much. It had orange sand, and no waves. But it was quite large. We found a spot and ran into another splinter group, including Sab, Ron, and James, who'd also got a taxi. Christian and I got our snorkelling gear out and headed for the water, moving up slightly to avoid the rocks. It was quite warm and the water was crystal clear. We pointed our faces at the bottom. The coral and the fish were a revelation to me. The coral wasn't too exciting, but it was only in a couple of metres of water, so clearly visible, and the fish were plentiful and not shy. Many were silver with black tails, but there were some beautiful purple and yellow ones, and some beautiful stripy ones feasting on the coral. A bit further out, it got deeper and more interesting. I did a few duck dives to look closer. We didn't have fins, but it didn't matter, I was able to float on the surface with no effort, and cover distance with a lazy breaststroke. It was heavenly.
We had to get out in order to dry out for the taxi. James had borrowed Christian's mask and snorkel, and the snorkel somehow died. So Christian went up to the shop to buy another. I did my best to dry out, and got burnt. Christian came back, having paid €18 for a mask and snorkel, and then it was time to go. We found the taxi driver, and our four companions, and headed back to the harbour with no issues.
As not everyone was there, we got an ice cream. We then boarded the RHIB again, this time at the back, and headed off to Comino, going through a narrow opening in the rock on the way for fun. The blue lagoon on Comino was packed, and as we got off into the relentless heat, with no space, and no possibility of shade, I felt uncomfortable. We found some lunch and cowered on the shady side of the public toilets to eat it, watching the lizards. From that vantage point, we could see a nicer place to go swimming, and headed for it. We left our gear on the very sharp rocks, and submerged ourselves. It was less clear here, because there was so much more activity, but it was still pleasant. I couldn't help wishing we could have stayed on Gozo for longer.
Time got away, and so we had to get out, and walk back to the pier. All the Rackers met up, and waited for the boats. The RHIB came first, and so we got on (again at the back) and departed. Christian pointed out how sunburnt I was. I'd put cream on my face, shoulders, and what of my back that I could reach, but had forgotten to ask Christian to do the rest. We roared off back to St Julian's harbour, with the skipper throwing in some tight corners and racing jetskis just to liven things up. He then had to try to fix one of the motors, which had lost its fuel injection and so was only operating on two-stroke. He said we only got back by the grace of god. We pulled into St Julian's harbour, but early, and so he changed his mind, and went back out into the open sea to do some figure eights and 360s. It was such a manoeuvrable boat.
Back at the dock, Mark and Christian tipped the skipper and we walked back up to the hotel. Christian and I didn't even bother going to our room. We went straight to the main pool and got in. It would have been rude not to make use of the wet bar, and so we sat on the submerged seats - I had a vodka and cranberry juice, and Christian had a gin and tonic. There were quite a few other Rackers around. After we'd finished our drinks, we got out and headed for the lido.
There were a couple of other people around. We donned our masks and snorkels and got in. It felt cold to start with, but in reality it was warmer than the main pool. The water was quite deep, with a fair bit of movement, but there was coral on the bottom, and a good number of fish. It was a different feeling from the beach, as the environment was more expansive. There were steel frame things and bits of concrete on the bottom, and I got an inkling of what it felt like as a diver to see a wreck. The fish were similar to the ones at the beach, but Christian thinks he saw a lion fish, and we saw two very large fish that looked a bit like tuna, but Christian said they were probably sea bream. I did a couple of duck dives. It was a lovely experience.
We got out, and got into the first of the saltwater pools. It was warm, and pleasant. But then we spotted the slide. We had to get out and go to the higher of the two pools, but it was fun. Christian did it twice. We went back up to the main pool to 'rinse the salt off' (?) and got some beers at the bar. We chatted to Andy and Mark. And Andy's daughter Georgie. She wanted to know why Christian wasn't going to eat the lime in his beer. She had also decided that ladies don't drink beer, despite the fact that her mother was drinking some. Then she thought Christian falling off his stool was hilarious, and wanted him to do it again. So I 'pushed' him off and he did a melodramatic disappearing under the water. She roared at that.
It was time to go, and so we took our gear upstairs and had showers. I'd thought it would be nice to go into Valletta for dinner, but it turned out to be a journey on the bus of over an hour, and 20 mins in a car. We abandoned that, and decided to do what Christian had preferred, which was to eat in one of the hotel's impressive looking restaurants. So we chose the barbecue buffet over the a la carte bistro, walked in, and were seated outside in the balmy evening.
We ordered a glass of prosecco each, and started with antipasto, including marinated calamari, spinach tart, salmon, cheeses, cold meats, salad, and bread. It was a perfect amount. We then had some mussels. I had the traditional ones in white wine, and Christian had Spanish style, with chorizo. We had to ask for finger bowls, but they were very good. We ordered a bottle of beaujolais to have with the mains, and headed for the barbecue. I had swordfish, tuna, beef, and pork belly, with salads. It was extremely good. Then it was time for dessert. We had a selection of petit four style treats, such as white chocolate delight, a choc mint mousse, apple and cinnamon mousse, pistacchio and mascarpone cake/mousse, and a rich chocolate mousse cake (can't remember all their pretentious names). Then Christian had a coffee. We couldn't finish the wine.
It was a lovely dinner, and a perfect end to an awesome day. It was peaceful and relaxed, and we talked about prospective wedding plans. :-)
We wandered back upstairs, and Christian was keen to go for a walk, and a late night swim. My swimmers were still quite wet, and so I wasn't keen, but I engineered a plan to wear pants and a top. We wandered back down to St Julian's beach, choosing a path beside the water that resulted in a dead end, which meant that I clambered over a railing, and Christian walked through the water, but we got to the beach in the end. It was difficult getting in, but not too cold actually. We had a bit of cuddly mooching in the water, and then, having proved our point, made our way back to the hotel, where we had another shower. We did most of the packing, and got in bed at about 11pm.
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