As we have been circumnavigating the Maltese Archipelago (How good does that sound ?) We have been meaning to stop and explore Gozo properly. So far we have stopped in the main harbour of Mgarr to get provisions, but always ended up back at the stunning bays and anchorages on its smaller neighbour Comino.

Looking more closely at the coastline of Gozo on the chart, we spotted an almost circular bay, called Dwejra, very similar to our very own Lulworth Cove at home. In the middle of the entrance is a famous rock called Fungus Rock. Before you think it, I know the word 'Fungus' conquers up yukk, slime, mouldy green and for those of you with children the same age as Dom, or are the same age as Dom -The Story Book 'Fungus the Bogey Man.' Well it is not green or slimey or an ideal home for Fungus the Bogey Man. It is only called Fungus Rock because there is a fungus plant, with medicinal properties that grows there. The rock itself is limestone. It stands 60 metres tall and has been protected since 1746, firstly by the Knights of Malta and now by it's status as a Nature Reserve. It would appear that the only ones welcome to scale it's walls are the Fungus Rock Lizard.

Once we had managed to negotiate the narrowish entrance, the sheer intensity of the place hit us. The rocks towered up almost vertically, enveloping us, like the large hands of a giant. The water looked inviting until we noticed our not so favourite friends 'The Pork Pie Jelly Fish!' But we weren't going to be deterred, the water was Chrystal clear, the jellies only drifted slowly so we could keep them in view and swim around them.

And what a swim !! There were a number of deep caves in the bottom of the cliffs and we snorkled inside them. A local fisherman said you can go through a gap in the rock and come out in another cave with it's own entrance. This was too much of a challenge, so while Ricky went to see where the cave would come out, I swam deeper into the cave and sure enough could see the sun light coming through the gap. I won't lie and say I wasn't a tad nervous, but I kept heading towards the light. After a short crawl over the rocks, as I ran out of water deep enough to swim, I found myself in a much larger cave. I sat on the huge rock plateau inside the cavern feeling dead chuffed and waited for Ricky. After a few echoey shouts of "Hello, I'm in here," he finally swam through from the other entrance and met me. It was so exciting, forgot all about the jelly fish!

In the evening we walked up over the cliff to catch the sunset and we stumbled across the Gozo inland sea. It was a cute place, with a real friendly community feel. The locals ferried tourists on their little boats, through the 80 meter narrow canyon to the open sea the other side, whilst divers explored the marine life meters below them in the clear indigo blue sea.

On a shore excursion I managed to find the Statue of Christ the Redeemer on the hillside. Not quite Rio de Janeiro. This one was only 6 metres tall, (Brazil's statue is 38 metres.) I yomped up the farmers track, then climbed up towards the base of the statue as far as I dare. It was just me and the lizards paying homage today, so I climbed just high enough to get a good photo and then scuttled down, half on my bottom, praying that I wouldn't squash any of the afore mentioned 'Gods Creatures Great and Small.'

To cool down I sat, with only one other tourist, a lady from Austria, in an air conditioned theatre and watched a film all about the history of the island, before heading out into the heat again to climb the steps to the citadel, sitting at the highest point of the island. Once inside the walls, it was easy to imagine how safe the islanders must have felt whilst under attack. In fact, I learnt in the film show they were given a curfew and ordered to spend the night there during one period in history when they were once again under attack. I spent a couple of hours looking around the museums, old prison, the battlements, not forgetting the stunning,imposing Catedral that dominates the main square. I found an art exhibition which had some wonderful pieces based on Nursery Rhymes and the Kit Williams Book Masquerade (right up my street.) The artist was called Abi Macleod, a talented artist, who uses things she finds to produce inspiring mosaics and wall plaques and and she runs workshops for children too, so I like her a lot.

The locals are, quite rightly are very proud of their little island and love to share it with visitors. There is so much to see, experience and take part in. I didn't get to see the Ggantic Temples (older than Stonehenge) or experience one of their many joyous festivals on this visit, but what better reason to return in the future.