SUP Sea Trek to Ta’ Marija Cave

Finally! I have had this SUP sea trek on my mind for quite a while and finally I managed to attend one! The first contact I made with Henry from Malta SUP Sea Treks was at the end of June, that’s how long I have been planning this, but either it was the time, the day or the weather that wasn’t in my favour, but I was determined to go at least on one SUP sea trek before the end of summer and I managed! Yaaay!

Here are are: Christopher, Jia Ying, Ambre, Briac, me and Henry! All set and ready to go on our very first SUP sea trek adventure in Gnejna Bay. I think it’s worth mentioning that Henry organizes these sea treks around the island and always chooses the best spot according to the weather conditions. During the week Henry informed me that this time we will be going to either Gnejna Bay or Popeye village looking at the weather forecast and confirmed the day before that Gnejna would be the best bet.

I also asked him over the phone if we will be visiting Ta’ Marija cave, but he didn’t want to make any false promises, just in case the wind picks up. I appreciate this approach as I know where I am and I won’t be disappointed if we wouldn’t go.

After entering the water we had about 15-20 mins training time when we practiced everything that Henry taught us ashore: how to stand up, how to get comfortable, the most efficient way to peddle, how to get back on the board if we fall in the water and so on.

I am just noticing that on the above photo I look like I was photo-shopped to the picture as you cannot see my board and I just look a bit out of place hahaha. Never mind lol.

And here I am with Christopher and Jia Ying enjoying the first quick stop on the way to Ta’ Marija cave. At this point we all got pretty comfortable with our boards and Henry allowed us to have a small break and quick dip in the water if we wanted to.

Or maybe he just wanted an opportunity to show us that he can do a head stand on the board! What a show off! Hahaha. 🙂 Don’t mind me Henry, I am only jealous as I wish I could do the same! But I promise I will practice my head stands and next time we will do one together!

We made it! Please let me introduce to the Ta’ Marija cave! Bigger than I thought! Wow! Look how small the others are! Yes, that little dot just underneath the cave is Henry!

Can you see my happy face? That’s me being super excited about discovering and exploring something new in Malta, yet again. This one is a bit more special as it’s only accessible from the water and required more effort than usual. Another Maltese hidden gem don’t you think?

I love this shot! Yes, I have to practice how NOT to include the selfie stick, in this case my peddle, in the photo, sorry about that, however all in all a great picture capturing a pretty special and unique experience. Well, for me at least, but I do believe we all loved it.

Smiling people, happy people! We were an average group of 5, as Henry told me that he can cater for up to 10 people. But it was a good vibe and everyone was enjoying it. If I remember correctly we all fell in the water at some point, apart from Henry of course, but that didn’t take any fun way, I think it actually added to it. 🙂

We had some time to snorkel in the area, which was nice and refreshing. I also managed to fall in the water while filming and lose my sunglasses! But Henry found them for me, thank you!

And because we worked ‘really’ hard on getting to Ta’ Marija cave, Henry thought that we deserve a little treat and he would pull us behind him for a while. Or was he just showing off again?! Either way, thanks for the lift Henry!

After exploring the amazing Ta’ Marija cave we started moving towards Qarraba Bay to enjoy one last swim before we start heading back to Gnejna Bay. While waiting for the others I took the opportunity to take yet another selfie. 🙂

And don’t worry, if you think that this might be quite physically challenging for you, Henry will come to your rescue! 🙂 As you can see below Ambre is enjoying this special service hehe.

 Photo credit: Henry (Malta SUP Sea Treks)

And here we are at Qarraba Bay! What a great day we had! I even met my ex-colleague Eve while we were there, she was just on her morning walk! How random and wonderful at the same time! Sorry didn’t manage to take a picture though. 🙁 All in all it was a awesome day and a good workout too!

Let’s summarize the trip now. We all met at Gnejna Bay at about 8:15am and started the actual sea trek about 9am as we had some theory prior departure, we all had to cover ourselves with sun cream, take plenty of selfies and make sure that our GoPro cameras are ready!

We returned back to Gnejnba Bay at about 12:30pm, which makes the sea trek about 3,5 hours long. The cost of these SUP sea treks is €45 per person.

 Photo credit: Henry (Malta SUP Sea Treks)

As usual I embedded a map with the exact location of my adventure. This is where you can find Ta’ Marija cave if you would like to visit it on your own or during one of Henry’s SUP sea treks.