Here’s the thing: I love Game of Thrones. Here’s the thing about Gozo: it houses the location of Khal Drogo and Daenerys Targaryen’s wedding, also known as the infamous Azure Window. The Azure Window is a natural limestone arch situated near Dwejra Bay, which also houses the Blue Hole and Inland Sea.

They are a diver’s and climber’s paradise.

Needless to say, it was on my bucket list of things to see in Malta. Shortly after our epic freediving course with David from OneBreath Freediving, we headed North to catch a ferry to the small island of Gozo. If you are ever in Malta, take a day or two out to visit Gozo and Comino; ferries are only 4.65 euro round trip!

We stayed at a surreal airbnb in the small town of Xaghra on the east side of the Gozo. For only 16 euros/night, our airbnb room had a private bathroom, king sized bed, private balcony, spacious kitchen and swimming pool. Talk about a bargain, am I right or am I right?

To get to Azure Window/Blue Hole/Inland sea, we took a stroll down to Victoria (about 2 miles) and took a bus there to Dwerja. All Malta buses are €1.50 for a single ticket.

It’s no wonder GoT decided to film a wedding scene at the Azure Window. Its majestic arch right by the Mediterranean sea was to die for. I wonder why people don’t get married here more often. It being next to the Blue Hole also gives you the biggest bang for your buck; look up, and see a huge cliff that demands attention. Look down, and the abyss of the inward cave beckons your name. Angus and I gave into our lust for adventure and headed towards the water as other tourists snapped away with their cameras.

My bare feet dipped into the cool, salty water as I waded towards the Blue Hole, avoiding the spiky sea urchins below me. As we reached the edge of the hole, I looked down into the water. It was as clear as glass; you could see exactly where the ledge begins, where it drops off, and the hues of the sea water changing from turquoise to a deep sea blue as the hole goes deeper and deeper. It took my breath away, along with any nerves I had before going on. We were stoked. Angus was the first to strip to his board shorts. Since he basically is a fish, he dove straight in. The water was clear enough so I could watch him from the surface as he dove down, turned and propelled back up the surface. Then it was my turn.

Coming from Scottish waters, diving into the Meditteranean Sea was a breeze and not nearly as cold. In fact, it was perfectly refreshing. We gave a turn of freediving and swimming in the Blue Hole, admiring the abyss below us and also the Azure Window above us.

The Inland Sea is located a few minutes walk from the Azure Window and Blue Hole. It is a small cove area that connects to the rest of the ocean by a cave, which tourists can check out by getting on a small boat that takes you in and out of the cave for 4 euro/person. As cool as it sounds, we decided to make it a bit cooler. Instead of taking the conventional boat trip, Angus and I did a little bit of some Deep Water Soloing, traversing across the rock and into the cave. I started off at the right end of the beach, traversing my way across without getting wet. At least until some kids on the boat starting yelling “Jump! Jump! Jump!” I couldn’t resist the pressure, but of course, why wouldn’t I have accepted the small challenge of jumping in the first place?

So of course, I let the kids count me down, took a deep breath and went for the plunge. Climbing back up to the traverse was easy. Heel hook right, transfer my weight to my right hips and I was back on the rock. We climbed over and along the cave, found small tufas and kept our distance as other boats passed by, with its onlookers taking pictures of both the caves and of us. They must have thought we were crazy. But we’re not. We’re just climbers.

I guess us climbers have to have some element of crazy.

Going to the Azure Window, Blue Hole and Inland Sea was definitely an adventure. Although these areas may seem like your typical tourist trap where you see hundreds of people snapping pictures at every angle, it was still possible for us to make an adventure out of it. We created a unique spin to the usual tourist destination by deep water soloing, or maybe even by going in the water! Most of the tourists there didn’t even have a bathing suit on. Keep this in mind: next time you’re at a touristy area, don’t dismiss it as just another place to take a photograph. Enjoy the view, seek adventure. You’re bound to find unique perspectives that even a million photographers cannot capture.

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