Popeye Village, Malta

A cove of impossible turquoise, and a whole village of little painted houses tumbling down the rock towards it: one ochre, the next green, another under a red tiled roof, all leaning companionably on one another above the water.

A few small boats sit at their moorings over pale sand, terraces and jetties thread between the buildings, and spiky agaves grow out of the warm stone in the foreground while the cliffs run away behind. What a spot for a morning swim!