Malta - Day 10: Comino Island and the Blue Lagoon

We had reserved a day trip by boat to Malta's most famous (arguably) attraction, the Blue Lagoon. After an excellent breakfast with a variety of stuff at the Maritim Antonine Hotel & Spa, we took a bus from the Adenau Bus Stop in Mellieha to the nearby Tunnara Bus Stop. From there, it was just a very short walk to the pier. 

We were a bit too early and had some excellent coffee at the beach, but when we looked for our boat, we found nothing. We made our reservation online but didn't have to pay in advance and had gotten no confirmation. At the scheduled departure time, there still wasn´t the boat. Fortunately, there was another boat company "Oh Yeah Malta," selling tickets for the same trip to the Blue Lagoon and a departure just a few minutes later than our planned one. We gladly bought tickets there and immediately boarded the boat. 

There weren't many guests, so they took their small boat. That wasn't bad, as the smaller craft really went fast for an exciting ride. On the way, we stopped at some points, like the Smuggler's Cave, for a view. It didn't take long, and we arrived at the Blue Lagoon which is located on the island of Comino.  Comino, formerly known as Ephestia, is a 3.5 square-kilometers-island situated between the main island of Malta and Gozo. You also can visit the Blue Lagoon as a day tour from Valletta or from the island of Gozo. But from Mellieha, it's a much shorter boat ride, than from Valletta.

 

 

When we reached Comino, we were told that we're to come back (to the larger boat), and we had plenty of time on the island, as the boat going back to Mellieha would depart in the late afternoon. There were already plenty of people, lots of snack bars, deck chairs for rent and of course the crystal clear water. There's just a really small sandy beach area, so people were mostly lying on rocks. It reminded me a bit of Croatia, where we also visited mostly rocky beaches, like in Losinj Island or the Island of Hvar. Coming from the Philippines, I'm of course used to sandy beaches, like in Sabang or Araceli. But I veered off from the subject...

We decided to take a walk first, as we saw a tower, which turned out to be Saint Mary's Tower, built in 1618 to defend the island. It was scorching already, and it took a while to walk there, but the view all around going to the tower is already fantastic.

The tower was open, so we went to see the small exhibition there. One can also walk up the tower, which we of course did, to see the view of the island from the rooftop.

From the tower, we had seen a path leading to the other side of the island, and we decided to walk there before returning to the lagoon. It actually worked fine, thanks to Google Maps, and we came to the "Chapel of Our Lady´s Return from Egypt" and then the Comino Camp Site, which few meters walk to a kind of a sandy beach on Santa Marija Bay.

After a short break, we continued back to the beautiful Blue Lagoon and allowed us to rent (an outrageously expensive) deck chairs to spend the rest of the time until departure at the water, to relax, swim in the crystal-clear blue but frigid waters and get some snacks at the many food stalls. The Lagoon was quite crowded, but still quite extraordinary.

Finally, we took the boat and soon were back at the pier in Mellieha. 

From the beach in Mellieha, we had seen an attractive red tower at the top of a hill, which turned out to be Saint Agatha's Tower, also called the Red Tower, built between 1647 and 1649. I really wanted to see it, and so we took a bus in the direction but missed the right bus stop. This turned out to be no problem, as we could just take the next bus back to that stop and from there it was only a short walk. Unfortunately, it was already closed, but it looked great from outside. There were three people at the entrance and based on the sound of the way they were talking, it seems a big drama of life is unfolding.

From the Red Tower, we took the next bus back to the main city area in Mellieha and fortunately didn't have to get the bus at Mellieha Beach, as it was full then and didn't take people in anymore. We were soon back at the hotel and later had another fantastic dinner in a restaurant along our hotel's street. The next day, we would already leave for the island of Gozo.

Day 18: Hualien, “The Private Garden” of Taiwan & Taroko Gorge

Day 18: Jiaoxi, Hualien & Taroko Gorge - 13.4.2015 

After another busy breakfast buffet at the Maple Leaves City Suites Hotel in Jiaoxi, Taiwan, we walked to the Jiaoxi Train Station. We had bought our train tickets with seat reservations to Hualien the day before, and it was a comfortable ride for about 1 hour and 20 minutes until we reached Hualien Train Station. 

Our reason for the trip was to see the Taroko Gorge in the Taroko National Park, one of Taiwan´s most significant natural wonders and tourist attractions. We read that you can visit the Taroko Gorge in organised tours, with buses or by hiring a cab for a day tour. We decided to hire a taxi and soon found a friendly cab driver in front of the train station. We showed him our planned itinerary, which we had printed out in English and Chinese, and agreed upon a price for seven hours (2,500 Taiwanese Dollar or 70€). So off we went to our first stop at the gate, where the Gorge really starts, about half an hour away from Hualien.

After this first photo-stop, we continued to the beautiful Eternal Spring Shrine, which lies nestled in the vast mountains above a waterfall. It´s a breathtaking scenery all around. We walked from the parking area over a bridge to a pathway inside the mountain until we came to the shrine. You actually have a great view from every place in that area.

Next up was the exciting "Swallow Grotto Trail". After a shortstop, where our cab driver got us helmets, we went down the cab at the trail entrance. The trail leads along a road and goes at times through the mountain. There were great views down to the river, and we successfully avoided to be hit by falling rocks... Actually, in the whole area, there are warnings of falling rocks, which was kind of scary and so we were always happy when we entered another tunnel. At the end of the trail, our cab driver awaited us, and we stayed a moment at a souvenir shop with cafe - where I bought a little jade souvenir. It's said that all of Taiwan's jade is from Hualien.

After a short stop at the Cimu Pavilion, we drove onwards to the little "village" Tianxiang for lunch. There we found restaurants, some shops, and public restrooms. Our driver apparently had a deal with a restaurant where he sent us, but we didn´t mind. My fish, however, wasn´t exactly spectacular and my friend didn´t expect eggs in his curry rice and diverted his attention to my lotus and bean soup (or something like that). We tried not to leave too much food on the plate, but I wasn't just a fan of stinky tofu which is a delicacy in Taiwan. We had to leave the table as soon as possible, afraid I might throw-up. Sorry! We then bought fresh pineapple next door.

From Tianxiang you can take the Xiangde Temple Trail up to the Tian Feng Pagoda. We originally had planned to do that, but there didn´t seem to be enough time, as we also wanted to walk the Baiyang Waterfall Trail. We opted for the latter, and the driver brought us to a nearby parking lot, from where we walked up to the trail entrance, which is a tunnel, directly at the main road. The trail is a round trip of about 4 kilometres, and you go through many completely dark tunnels, so you need a flashlight. Our driver had given us a flashlight, so we happily passed through the first shaft and then walked through the magnificent scenery and more tunnels until we came to a suspension bridge. It was kind of scary, given my fear of heights, but I managed to cross it for a better look of the waterfall. The views in that area are great, and we stayed for some time until we continued through another tunnel to the entrance to the Water Curtain, which is a waterfall inside a dark tunnel.

We watched the people preparing for the walk into the tunnel and realised, that we were underdressed, regarding the waterproofness of our clothes. We still decided to go inside and then had to walk on a minimal stone path with water flowing onto it - it was a bit slippery. And of course pitch black, except for the flashlights. Unfortunately, it was also a little crowded, and people had to share the path for the way to the Water Curtain as well as the way back, so we tried not to fall into the underground river flowing next to the very narrow stone path. At the end of the short trail, we came to the Water Curtain and of course got wet. But just after the Water Curtain was the end of the tunnel, where you can go outside the tube, before you have to return where you came from. It was actually an exciting destination, and the whole Waterfall Trail was really a highlight amid the many highlights the Taroko Gorge offers.

Back at the parking lot, we met our driver and after an excursion to the public restroom continued to our last stop inside the Taroko Gorge, the Buluowan Plateau. We visited the Atayal Culture Exhibition and the Scenic Walkway, which offered more great views before we had to drive back to Hualien City.

In Hualien City, we bought train tickets for the next train to Jiaoxi. There was still time left before departure, so we walked around the train station area, where we bought some cookies and found a cafe. With more time at hand, we would have stayed in Hualien City, which has some attractions, like the Hualien Martyr´s Shrine, the Hualien Stone Sculpture Museum, the Ziqiang Night Market and an Ocean Park. There´s also a Taiwan Tourist Shuttle Bus, leading to the Hualien Sugar Factory among others. South of Hualien are some small towns, that may be worth a day trip, like Ruisui, where you find hot springs.

Back in Jiaoxi, we enjoyed our last night there, visiting the rooftop hot spring in the hotel and started packing, as we had to leave the next morning for our final stop on our Taiwan journey, Taipei.