After a little school we motored the 8 miles round to Dwejra
Bay. We had been recommended this place but it is only tenable in very settled
weather and not with wind from the west which is the prevailing wind direction.
After much deliberation and messaging with our friend David we decided to give
it a try. The wind was on the nose the whole way so no sailing but it was a
beautiful day to be out on the water. On the way we looked at the limestone
cliffs and had an impromptu geology lesson from Patrick on sedimentary rock
formations.
As we rounded the corner and motored through the small gap into
Dwejra Bay we called the kids up on deck, AJ took one look around and exclaimed
“this is cool!” The bay was almost perfectly still, and surrounded by steep
rock sides which housed lots of caves which we couldn’t wait to explore. No
sooner had the anchor dropped, the kids jumped in the dinghy to go for a row
while Patrick and I checked the anchor was holding, tidied up a little and
prepared lunch.
After we had eaten we pumped up the SUP and AJ and Esme
paddled off to play. By this time Justin had dropped off Lynita’s Mum and
Stepdad at the rocky steps for a walk; he then went back to pick Lynita and the
kids up. Patrick and I got in the dinghy and we all went exploring the caves. There
were really weird noises in the caves that Patrick said were waves echoing but
to me sounded like some freaky sound effects from a scary theme park ride. It
was a really cool adventure that the kids loved.
We then went ashore and walked up some stone steps to get a
beautiful view of the bay. It seems somewhat surreal that we have sailed (or
motored) our little boat all the way from the UK to this little bit of
paradise.
As we walked over the rocks Esme spotted a fossil of a shell and
realised that at some point there was sea where she was stood… pretty awesome!
We
then spotted a track over to the “Inland Sea”, a tourist attraction where the
sea enters through a tunnel in the rock and tourists can pay 4 euros for a
fisherman to take them through the tunnel to the sea outside in his boat. We ignored
the ice cream sellers and let the kids play in the shallow water where they
swam, and then played at throwing a stone into the water for the other to “fetch”.
After a while Patrick got bored of the “tourist trap” and headed back to the
boat whilst the kids would have gone on playing all afternoon, evening and
night! Eventually though we had to leave and we walked back to Dwejra bay.
Patrick had taken the paddleboard back so AJ rowed me, Esme,
Kynan, Leora and Lynita back whilst Justin took Lynita’s Mum and Stepdad back
in their dinghy. It was an amazing day in an amazing place that we feel privileged
to have been able to visit.
After washing the kids down using our solar shower we had a cold dinner sat in the cockpit watching the sun go
down through the gap in Fungus Rock at the entrance to the bay. Perfect!
Well, we are privileged, and watching the sun go down was
beautiful. However it isn’t all plain sailing. There is a bit of swell building
in the bay which although not dangerous may be a little uncomfortable tonight.
We are also still struggling as a family with the transition from living aboard
in a marina with a fairly constant routine to a travelling life and the
challenges of trying to get the balance right between formal schooling and the
wonderfully experiential learning that happens from exploring caves, finding
fossils and noticing interesting lines on rock formations!
Glad you enjoyed this magical place :)
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