A channel a few dozen metres wide between Comino and the rock of Cominotto, where a white sand bottom turns the water an almost unreal turquoise. Boats run from Ċirkewwa and Gozo; the island has fewer than ten residents, no cars and no working hotel, so beyond the lagoon there is only scrub and a path to the watchtower of 1618. In July and August it is packed — come at first light, or in May.