The island of Comino lies between Malta and Gozo and is the home of the famous Blue Lagoon, a ‘must see’ and along with six others, we caught the 9am ferry for the 15-minute crossing.
On arrival, the water looked stunning, and it was easy to see where the name came from. However, judging by the way four hardy souls were gingerly stepping into the water, I suspect it was on the chilly side.
As the island is only 2.5km by 1.5km, we’d read a circular hike was popular. We set off past a path lined with street food vans, which were just cranking up, and followed what we hoped was the coastal path, agreeing that if we kept the water on our left, we’d be fine. Signposting was disappointing, and when we came across a fenced off building, we thought we‘d have to turn back, until we spotted a couple in front squeezing around the side, and so we followed. Eventually we came across a marked path to the Church of Lady’s Return to Egypt and a small beach area, although the term beach might be a misnomer. Eventually we began climbing along a rough path with course bushes and loose sharp rocks and at times, the path disappeared. A track appeared to head in the direction of the north side of the island, where we hoped to find the northern section of coastal path which we did, eventually. Whilst it wasn’t the most straightforward walk, it was peaceful with only the occasional other walker.
Arriving back at the Blue Lagoon just after midday, it was a totally different sight to the one we’d seen on arrival. The smell of frying emanated from the street food vans, who were now doing a roaring trade in anything that could be fried, whilst tattooed young men and girls in skimpy bikinis were lying on any piece of concrete or rough ground. The water was packed, as presumably it had now warmed up, and ‘party boats’ from Malta were mooring up disgorging vast numbers of tourists and loud music. It was absolutely horrendous and so removed from the peace and quiet on the rest of the island.
Although we’d paid an additional €5 to visit caves on the return journey, we had just missed the 12.15pm boat and the following boat didn’t include the caves, but we decided to forgo them to escape as quickly as possible.
Back in Gozo, we headed for a quiet bar and a cold beer.
