09-06 : MALTA
We arrived in Malta this morning, after bumping into 2 old friends going to… Malta at the airport in Turin…
The weather here is really hot, but there's a breeze and the sea is lovely! Rosie had left her credit card at the airport (at the rent-a-car desk), so we had to rush back, rented car and all.
The population here seem rather scruffy, definately relaxed, and quite pleasant to talk to. Out apartment is nice and cosy, if a bit scarce in equipment, but the landlord is nice and helpful… and there’s free wi-fi. We did some shopping for basics to get us started…
On a short walk around the town I found myself a fab pair of walking sandals - great! and cheap. I might buy a pair of goggles too, for the sea here is really clear and rocky.
10-06 : MALTA
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| some spectacular cliffs |
Today I followed a coastal path - a 15 km walk along the West coast, from Dingli Cliffs to the Blue Grotto.
[http://mta.com.mt/page.aspx?id=267]
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| walking along |
It’s been a very hot day, and I compleated the walk at around 1:00pm - about the right time to meet with the others climbing about and go for a bite to eat, before looking for a place for a good swim.
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| the Blue Grotto |
My new sandals performed really well - I used them all day and got no blisters or other discomfort. Tomorrow we’re off to Gozo for the day.
11-06 : GOZO
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| Gozo |
After a short ferry journey of about 25 min, we headed SW where the climbing trio found a spot to do their business, and I found a trail leading me into the island, passing from Xewkija and ending in the capital, Victoria (Rabat). The houses here are nicer than on Malta, even the modern beehives are somewhat more contained and not impacting so much on the eye…
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| Xewkija |
In Victoria I went to the citadel -the oldest part of town- where I visited a few museums: Archaeology, Natural History, and the Old Prisons. Unfortunately, there were scaffolding all over this area, as they’re doing some major restoration works… probably before the big summer rush.
This morning I actually had a couple of blisters under my big toes, so I reverted to flip-flops pretty soon into the day - maybe I should have given my feet a rest after a long day wearing NEW shoes…
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| the citadel |
In the old part of the town outside the citadel there are some old Victorian lanes (reminded me of Brighton in a furnace…) where local crafters have their shops - sometimes just the yard of their house. I bought two lace bookmarks, handmande by a nice old lady with whom I exchanged a few words.
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| the Victorian lanes |
Here everybody speaks English, fortunately, for Maltese, is rather incomprehensible. It sounds a bit like a mixture of Arabic and Romanian… hard to read and impossible to pronounce :p
Shortly afterwards I was called out by the climbers who wanted to go for a swim, so I had to cut my tour short to join back with them.
We headed to Dwejra Bay and had a swim in the Azure Window, a large archway in the sea.
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| the Azure window - and azure it is :-) |
We then drove towards the ferry, but had dinner in Gozo still, in Marsal Bay. We went to a nice restaurant, Otters, were we enjoyed some local food - I tasted some Gozo cheeses and salad.
It’s been a long day - I think tomorrow I’ll take a break and keep in the area…
12-06 : BUGIBBA
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| a map of peninsula |
I took a nice walk along the peninsula where we have aur accomodation, first going to the Qawra Salinas (salt pans), then retracing my steps along the seafront up to the watch-tower on the other side, in St. Paul’s Bay, having a fruit-salad lunch along the way. On the way back to the flat (shop-side) I stopped for a pair of swimming goggles and swim-shoes - rather essential equipment if you want to preserve your feet on the rocks :-) Back at the flat I had a welcomed shower to get rid of the constant sweat… I’m living in a permanet sauna - in spite of the breeze…
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| make-shift bench |
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| beehiwes... |
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| romantika... |
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| watch tower, now a museum (presently closed) |
All in all it’s a bit boring to go around alone all the time. Not that I didn’t know it, but still, it’s quite tiring. The heat is constant, so is the sweating and the eyes are just slits for the sun glare -in spite of sunglasses - dips in the sea are most welcomed and so is some peace and quiet during the hottest hours of the afternoon. The bits of town I saw so far are all pretty run-down… most of the population is overweight and tatty… and loud! All in all, definately NOT a place I’d live. I’m rather glad it’ll all be over and dome with in 3 days.
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| Maltesian boats |
13-06 : GOZO
We decided to return to Gozo for the day: Pat and Renzo will go climbing and Rosie and I will go exploring :-)
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| Ggantija megalithic temples |
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| the old Mill |
We first visited the megalitic Ggantija temples - a very nice open-air museum, nicely laid out. The 2 temples are from c. 3500 bc and the walls still up were pretty impressive!
After the temples we went on to the old windmill, now a museum too - very interesting.
I find the local museum are all rather small and essential, but well laid out and with a lot of information - I enjoyed all I’ve seen so far. Museums are one thing I don’t mind spending money on, for it goes to the conservation and preservation of the area.
But the day wouldn’t be complete without a dip in the blue Mediterranean sea - we went to Rambla Bay and had a swim from the red sandy beach. After lunch, we met the other two and we went for a drink before re-embarking on the ferry back to Malta. From the ferry I saw the sun engulfed in a dusty cloud that made some eerie picture…
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| eerie... |
14-06 : VALLETTA
This morning I set out by bus with two friends, who also came to Malta for a short break [all-day ticket: €1.50]. We went to Marsaxlokk Sunday fish market - supposidly THE weekly attraction of the island… sadly, no different from any other market I’ve seen. And the fish, although very good to look at, was sold on just a few stalls - fewer than the souvenir ones…
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| NOT a pretty picture... | |
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| different shades of green |
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| cunny advertising |
We had a walk through the “fishing” village, but that also wasn’t any different from any other place on the island. After a refreshing pint, we walked to Birzebbuga to visit an underground cave (and attached museum) where they had found lots of remains of ancient animals - the cave was rather small, but interesting.
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| a view from the fortress |
We then caught the bus to Valletta, were we had a spot of lunch. We visited the fortified city and managed a glimpse inside St.John’s Cathedral, but unfortunately, we couldn’t go in for a proper visit, so we missed the Caravaggio paintings there - shame.
Valletta is quite old and run-down, but has a character of it’s own - at least the fortified part we visited.
After quite a lot of walking, we caught the bus back to Bugibba, where our friends are staying too - all the bus rides were packed, and on this last one there were a lot of youngsters evidently going for an evening out :-)
15-06 : MDINA
I had another nice day out and about with Rosie: we visited Mdina (Rabat), the fortified citadel that once was the original capital of Malta.
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| one of the many knockers of Malta |
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| narrow lanes |
People still live there and we walked the narrow roads enjoying each other’s company - the citadel is nice and quiet -a change from the usual hustle and bustle of the seaside towns- and we could finally see some of the door-knockers Malta is famous for, and some very nice glassworks.
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| overlooking the country |
After Mdina we went to Anchor Bay for a swim - we had to climb down some rocks to reach a perfect spot to dive from: really worth the effort! Near there, there is the village they built for shooting the film Popeye, now a tourist trap with animation and all
“All those in the water, say ‘YEAH’, all those on the beach, say ‘HU’”… Quick! Run!!!
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| fun swimming about |
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| Popeye village... now a right ol' tourist trap |
We jumped back into the car and went North to Cirkewwa, where we had lunch while we waited for our two friends on the way back from Comino island.
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Finally, the holiday’s over. Malta has great seas, but it’s far too hot for my likings - I don’t think I’ll be coming back. The only way I could conceive another holiday here, in case of a walking tour of the island, is in the middle of WINTER! I guess it’d still be hot, but not so much. Still, I don’t see that in the very near future. For once I’m happy to go back to Italy…
The holiday foursome worked out well, we were all independent enough and together enough that the thought of another joint venture is not a bad thing.
more pix: http://tinyurl.com/q6sowcy
