Gozo appeals for it’s simplicity: with swims up to 5km long, always returning to base (rather than moving from island to island), non-swimming friends could join the trip and stay at the hotel.
The week started windy, with a series of cliff swims with us hugging steep rocks and flying (it seemed) over submerged rocks to avoid the choppier water out to sea. The group of 12 were all new to each other but by the end of the first day’s swim we had bonded, having taken delight in sun and salt water, and shared the joy of swimming with silver fish and into golden sand bays.
Swimming outdoors transformed the distance most of us could do – while many of us got out of pools after 30 minutes because we were bored, here we could swim for almost two hours (when we came to do the crossing from Gozo to Malta) and cover 5km. Between swims we lazed on the boat, sharing suncream and stories, and diving off every now and then to inspect small sheltered lagoons or swim to the beach for ice cream.
At the end of the week I was fitter, browner and happier – and came home with friendships set to last (there’s something about the experience of swimming together that makes people bond).
A six-day trip costs from £655, including six nights B&B with SwimTrek. Non-swimming partners are welcome, and free to enjoy the beaches or scuba dive.
