I would be hard pressed to find a more relaxing way to have a very active vacation. That's actually not a contradiction in terms, as swim trekking around Malta has been one of the best vacations I have ever experienced. Whether it's the crystal clear Mediterranean, the cloudless skies with temperatures hovering around 85 degrees, the perfect balance of swimming along cliffs and chilling on the boat, or the camaraderie of the 13 swim trekkers and guides, I left Malta renewed, refreshed, and enriched.
The days are filled with challenging, yet breathtaking swims along coasts and cliffs. Just when I felt that I had enough of the saltwater, our guides Lizzie and Sakura would whistle us to the boat and greet us with coffee/tea, trail mix and cookies. The snacks did the trick for renewing our energy and most of us would find ourselves back in the water, playing off of the anchored boat. The entertainment opportunities are endless in the Mediterranean. I was easily talked into diving into the water to join Luke and Leigha in an impromptu game of water polo or volley ball. Other days we would gather leftover bread from lunch and watch the thousands of fish swarm us in an attempt to get in on the action of sharing the food. Some of our time was spent taking cat naps on the boat, listening to Ipods or diving off of the balcony of the boat.
After a delicious, healthy lunch, our afternoons were filled with additional swims, long hikes, visits to secret caves (such as the cave from the movie Count of Monte Cristo), or a much needed visit to the local masseur.
The camaraderie among the group was absolutely priceless. From the very first introductory meeting where we all revealed our varying degrees of open water swimming experience, to the final breakfast a week after our arrival, the group formed an unbelievable bond. Representing Sweden, Australia, Gibraltar, France, England, and the US, we certainly never had to search for conversation topics.
The team consisted of the following: the guides Sakura, who swam the English channel in 11 hours (i.e. 22 miles- that is unbelievable!), and Lizzie, our fearless Aussie leader with an in-depth knowledge of celebrity gossip, who kept us in line with enthusiasm and her positive attitude.
The youngest members of Team Gozo were two university seniors- 1 from Stanford (member of the triathlon team) and 1 from Harvard (captain of the swim team). The rest of the group consisted of 30 somethings, including: the Aussies who have a talent for open water swimming (not to mention Luke's tendency to sandbag the beginning of the swim in order come in first among the pink caps);
Cameraman Will, whose contagious energy and optimism ensured that he was always up to something (e.g. free diving, 1st jellyfish sting, finding a dead eel and being considerate enough to bring it on the boat to share with the group, to planning a grand finale hike to watch the sunset over cocktails);
Team Orange who had a tendency to get in some extra unwanted mileage but whose fitness and teamwork ensured that all of the swims were completed and carried out with enthusiasm.
and finally Team Yellow (aka team Sweden) who demonstrated not only consistent good humor and perseverance, but also a talent for dives off of the boat and synchronized swimming;
The closeness of the group over such a short period of time can be explained by the shared interest in travel, passion for adventure and willingness to take on both physical & personal challenges. The only difficulty is now picking the next Swim Trek adventure for 2009 with so many great options.
The swim totals:
Day 1 - Sunday - 7000 (600 meter time trial to designate teams, 3 km morning swim, 4 km afternoon swim)
Day 2 - Monday - 1500 (crossing from Gozo to Camino, 600 swim to Blue Lagoon, exploring caves, hike to top of Camino)
Day 3 - Tuesday - 6000 (Funghus Rock- big swells/turbulent water, hike to blue hole & arch & back to Xlendi)
Day 4 - Wednesday - 5000 (crossing from Gozo to Malta)
Day 5 - Thursday - 5000 (2km in morning, 3 km in afternoon, water polo)
Day 6 - Friday - 500 (swim to cave in Xlendi)
Waking up every morning I look out my front door to see the ski mountain...I can't help but want to get outside.
The team consisted of the following: the guides Sakura, who swam the English channel in 11 hours (i.e. 22 miles- that is unbelievable!), and Lizzie, our fearless Aussie leader with an in-depth knowledge of celebrity gossip, who kept us in line with enthusiasm and her positive attitude. 
The youngest members of Team Gozo were two university seniors- 1 from Stanford (member of the triathlon team) and 1 from Harvard (captain of the swim team). The rest of the group consisted of 30 somethings, including: the Aussies who have a talent for open water swimming (not to mention Luke's tendency to sandbag the beginning of the swim in order come in first among the pink caps); 
and finally Team Yellow (aka team Sweden) who demonstrated not only consistent good humor and perseverance, but also a talent for dives off of the boat and synchronized swimming;
The second bit of excitement came from the taxi driver who arguably achieved a world record time of driving us from the airport to Valletta. Although neither of us clocked it, we traveled the 10 km in record speed with screeching tires, passing all of the other cars, pushing 100 km/hour on windy, busy city roads. It was there that we noted that Malta didn't seem to be big on road markings of any type. 
The next stop on the journey was a day in the bustling seafront town of Torquay. The most memorable part of Torquay (besides the enormous breakfast number 2) was the abundance of palm trees. 
The next place we set up shop was in Pentewan, and located right on the ocean. We visited the local village pub for a pint and then enjoyed our second coastal walk to the quaint fishing village called Mevagissey...and so the pasty exstravaganza began (thank goodness for the 2 mile hilly walk!).
