Malta (2011 & 2013)

MALTA (14)

GOZO – AZURE WINDOW & INLAND SEA

We’ve visited the Azure Window and Inland Sea specifically for Berto to enjoy some dives in these spectacular spots. But even if you’re not a diver, it’s still well-worth a visit.

The road that will take you to the impressive cliffs (as well as the Azure Window and Inland Sea)

AZURE WINDOW:

Unfortunately, the Azure Window (Tieqa tad-Dwejra) was lost to sea in March 2017 amid heavy storms – its collapse has been predicted for years. But the barren landscape that falls away towards the sea, is still fascinating to see – it almost feels as if you’ve reached the end of the earth!

This was a major tourist attraction and frequent TV and movie set (you may recognize this, now gone, structure from scenes out of Game of Thrones).

The magnificent limestone Azure Window (photo taken before collapse in 2017)
View towards Dwejra’s cliffs – taken from Azure Window

I’ve captured the divers while they were preparing to dive inside the Blue Hole (and then swim underneath the Azure Window) – here are a few photo’s:

Berto getting ready to dive at Azure Window
Divers at the Blue Hole with Azure Window in the background
As Berto’s group were getting ready to dive, another group of divers emerged from their dive at the Blue Hole
Berto’s dive group disappears under the water at the Blue Hole

While the divers were under water, I’ve taken a walk to explore the surroundings. It really is a striking contrast between the blue Mediterranean waters and the bleached coastline of cliffs and rocks. There are some information boards that tells us that marine fossils can be found everywhere … we are however not allowed to remove these from the rocks as they are protected by law.

The contrast of the blue Mediterranean and white rocks – really fascinating
Not an easy walk on the rocks, but wonderful to explore

As the divers finished their dive, we’ve collected all of our stuff and walked over to the Inland Sea where another dive was done.

One last look at the Azure Window – not knowing then it would disappear after a couple of years

DIVING AZURE WINDOW:

An illustration of diving the Blue Hole (Credit: Scuba Diving Malta Gozo Comino – The Ultimate Guide to Diving the Maltese Islands by Peter G Lemon, published on Malta.com)

Although our next post (the last one of our Malta series) will be about the different dives on Malta, we would like to show a few underwater pictures of the dives Berto has done here on Gozo.

Inside the Blue Hole – looking up towards divers jumping in the water
Swimming underneath the Azure Window
Sea life at the Blue Hole
The rocky sea bed provides spectacular diving
A diver taking a closer look at the cliffs under water

Although the Azure Window collapsed, divers now enjoy this site to see the addition of a few tons of limestone that have fallen into the sea.

INLAND SEA:

Just behind the Azure Window, is the Inland Sea which looks like a peaceful lagoon. It’s a sheltered sea-water pool flanked by high cliffs and linked by a natural passageway to the open sea.

The Inland Sea

You can either take one of the small boats that leave from here for trips through the tunnel and along the coast or do what the divers planning to do … which is to scuba dive in the dark tunnel towards the light at the end of the tunnel and into the open sea, before returning back to the Inland Sea.

The tunnel at the Inland Sea that leads to the ocean
The divers discussing their next dive

There is a little rustic bar among the boathouses that provides welcome refreshments and we’ve bought some sandwiches and cold drinks to enjoy before the next dive.

Tourists getting ready to get on the small boats to enter the tunnel
Small boats waiting for tourists
There are just a few buildings at the Inland Sea
The lagoon of seawater, linked to the Mediterranean Sea through an opening formed by a narrow natural arch
On this photo you can see the light at the other side of the tunnel, leading into the ocean

DIVING THE INLAND SEA:

An illustration of diving the Inland Sea (Credit: Scuba Diving Malta Gozo Comino – The Ultimate Guide to Diving the Maltese Islands by Peter G Lemon, published on Malta.com)

There is actually not much to see for divers in the Inland Sea itself, but the tunnel offers an amazing diving experience.

In the Inland Sea maximum depth is 2m, but the bottom of the tunnel gets progressively deeper – starting at 3m in the lagoon side and at the seaward end reaches 26m.

Divers inside the tunnel – swimming towards the light
Getting towards the end of the tunnel
Sea life inside the tunnel

This was quite an amazing scuba diving adventure and one that Berto has talked about for many years after his dives on Gozo.

As mentioned earlier, our next post on our visits to Malta & Gozo will be the final one of this series. This post will feature some of the most spectacular diving sites that Berto enjoyed. Put on your wetsuit and we’ll see you there!

We have done these trips in 2011 & 2013

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31 thoughts on “MALTA (14)”

    1. I’m so glad you also had the opportunity to see the Azure Window before it collapsed! Yes, the sea is unpredictable and I suppose the erosion over the years were the main reason for the Azure Window to finally broke off into the ocean.
      Thank you for reading and commenting 👍🏻.

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    1. Yes, I was quite shocked to hear about the collapse … it must have been a real blow for the Gozo tourism. I’m glad you could also see it before it disappeared into the sea.
      Thank you for your compliment about the underwater photo’s – I’ve forwarded it to Berto 😉. For these specific photo’s Berto used his normal Sony Cyber-shot camera – but safely packed inside an underwater housing. The C&C strobe (powerful underwater light) “lights” the way in dark alleys. These days, Berto also uses a GoPro with an underwater housing.
      In our last post of our Malta series, we will have an abundance of underwater photo’s – hope you will enjoy those as well.

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  6. The Azure Window looks beautiful, that’s too bad that it has since collapsed. What a neat spot to go diving. I love the shots of the divers gearing up and the ones through the tunnel with that little beam of light! This sounds like such a thrill!

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    1. The Azure Window had an absolute beauty that surrounded it … but like I’ve said, apparently it still is a great place for the divers to enjoy even though it collapsed. Yes, my husband had a great time diving both these places – all I’ve heard for years was how amazing that dark dive was with the light becoming brighter and brighter … thrill seeker 😁.

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    1. Oh yeah, I remember you mentioning that you spent some time on Gozo … well, then you would also know how beautiful the Azure window was. Can you believe we did not visit Comino 👀 (Berto was there briefly for a dive, but we never went there to enjoy the blue waters and spend a day in the sun) … will have to go back 😁.

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      2. Ouch !! And that’s exactly why I did not even put my little toe in the beautiful blue water in Xlendi on Gozo … because I saw some jellyfish !! However, Berto was brave enough – and survived without incident 😉.

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    1. Thank you so much guys! How wonderful that you’ve also had the opportunity to visit Gozo (and to paddle through the tunnel of the Inland Sea). Yes, I’m always amazed to see the underwater world – though it’s only through my husband’s camera lens 😉. Thanks for stopping by at our blog 👍🏻.

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  12. Another great post, Corna, thank Berto for the images and will you ask him why all the divers are wearing full suits, is it for temperature reasons or potential abrasions? I have only ever dived in a half-suit but that was always in really warm tropical waters and even then I managed to get a coral cut on my ankle without even knowing! Was that the kit issued by the dive shop?

    As for the arch, Mother Nature will always win in the end!

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    1. Berto is still learning to take pictures underwater … and sometimes he enjoys diving so much that he forgets to use his camera! He always dives with a full wetsuit (his suit is custom made and fits like a glove, so he never rents any of his diving gear except for weights and oxygen).
      Although the Mediterranean water is not that cold, he explained that it gets colder the deeper you dive … and yes, it also helps protect you from coral or sharp pieces of a wreck as you dive.

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