Hot damn. I mean really, ridiculously hot. And sunny. And gorgeous.
Malta is a helluva of a place, situated in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea between Libya and Italy. Spending four days on the three-island country was an incredible experience, with just the right mix of great food, outdoor adventures, rocky beaches, and remnants of early human civilizations.
Day One
After landing and taking a taxi to my hotel in Sliema, I had a lazy lunch overlooking Sliema Bay and the steep walls of the city of Valletta. After meeting up with some friends, we hopped the two Euro Sliema ferry across Marsamxett Harbour to the boat landing of Valletta. After heading up the steep hill to the city, the streets of Valletta were narrow enough to cast a cooling shadow over most of the city as we wandered around exploring. Stopping in at St. John’s Co-Cathedral, where everything is clad in a different type of marble, we found quite a bit of skull and crossbones imagery. Creeped out a bit, we escaped past the national library and palace to the Upper Barrakka Gardens. The view from this garden was gorgeous, overlooking a modern day shipping hub and old parts of Valletta’s outskirts.
From Valletta, we took a bus to a town called Marsascala to meet up with even more friends who were working in Malta for the summer. This small Maltese town has a nice beach area just down the road, with a couple of bars and restaurants nearby. One of the bars, confusingly of the reggae variety, had lots of flies and garbage to offer along with the cheap beer. We ducked out of the reggae bar for the inner harbor of Marsascala for dinner and drinks before heading back to Sliema for the night.
Day Two
The country of Malta is made up of three islands: Malta, Gozo, and Comino. I awoke early on the second day to get picked up for a jeep tour of the country’s second-largest island, Gozo. The van picked up tour participants from all over Malta until we reached the western port. Van drivers told our group to grab the next ferry to Gozo and meet the jeep drivers dockside once we reached the neighboring island. After a 45 minute ferry ride, we reached the docks and navigated the hordes of people exiting the ferry to find the jeeps. I was assigned to a jeep with a nice family from outside Stockholm and off we went. The jeeps had two seats up front and two parallel, covered benches in the back. The driver explained that Gozo is significantly (read: barely) more fertile than the island of Malta and therefore was responsible for the vast majority of olive- and grape-related agriculture for the country.
The first stop on the jeep tour was Ramla Bay, famous for its nearly red sand. The beach itself had some interesting rock outcroppings framing the beach and the water. A short hike above the beach revealed some nice views of the gentle crescent beach. From the beach, I organized a quick jaunt to the Ġgantija Temples, which predate the pyramids and are amongst the oldest free-standing human structures on earth.
The tour continued as we reached the Xlendi Cliffs, which rise rather dramatically from the water. Driving past the remains of an old British aqueduct from the 1800s, we arrived at the famous Azure Window. What I had seen in pictures of this natural rock formation paled in comparison to what I actually saw. Back home in Virginia, we have the semi-famous Natural Bridge, but it decidedly lacks the dramatic flow of the sea and the soaring heights of the formation on Gozo. Dodging hastily excavated salt pans, I managed to snap a few pictures without including throngs of other tourists. These salt pans and the natural, jagged pockets formed by water and wind erosion had collected and subsequently evaporated seawater- leaving only sparkling salt crystals.
Next up on the jeep tour was the Blessed Virginia of the Ta’Pina, a church greatly expanded for the Pope’s visit to Malta. It had a really interesting memorial for all of the British service members who had died, went missing, or served in the military in Malta. There were a few displays dedicated to British Naval service members who had served on Malta as well as Egypt in the 1880s.
The jeep sped past some commercial salt pans from a significant distance on the way to Gozo’s biggest city, Victoria. The city had a gorgeous Citadel, which we were free to explore. The citadel sat on top of one of the highest points on the island, offering outstanding views of the entire landmass. From Victoria, the jeeps delivered us back to the port we had originally arrived in to grab a motorboat back to Malta. The boat made a quick stopover at the edge of the Blue Lagoon, a famous harbor on the tiny island of Comino.
Day Three
On the third day of this Maltese adventure, your narrator and his friend boarded a sailing ship destined for the tiny island of Comino. Comino sits between the Maltese island of Comino and Gozo and is famous for the Blue Lagoon. This sailing ship neglected it’s sailing ways opting instead for engine propulsion. The sun-drenched gulet hugged the northern coastline of Malta before circling the island of Comino and making landfall rockfall at the famed Blue Lagoon. Meine freund and I purchased what turned out to be a high-speed jet boat tour of a few small caves just outside the Blue Lagoon. I sat next to the pilot who was thrilled to walk me through the finer points of piloting a highly-pivotable jet boat and breaking spines.
After a not-so-great lunch on the boat, we headed onto Comino to check out the Blue Lagoon. After stashing our stuff under the lifeguard stand and making our way down to the waterline, we threw ourselves into the water because it was literally 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit/537 Celsius in the sun. As we swam in the lagoon, I caught a glimpse of a few fish and an extremely wayward jellyfish. I wanted to relocate the jellyfish, but things tend to get complicated when you try to help a jellyfish.
After the jellyfish-related quandary, I managed to make it to the opposite side of the Blue Lagoon where throngs of people were cliff-jumping and exploring caves. After cutting my foot on the most sanitary coral I’ve ever seen, I swan back to the shore, collected all of my stuff and booked it back to the boat. Looking back, I wouldn’t have rushed since it turns out 150 British and German tourists have no sense of timing. From the Blue Lagoon, the boat headed over to the island of Gozo. Having spent the previous day on Gozo, I increased my Gozoan cred by spending one glorious hour marinating in the chilly Mediterranean Sea. Weirdly, the boat crew choose to arrange the boat engine’s exhaust at the entrance to the ladder leading from the sea to the top deck of the boat. This makes your lungs hurt.
After getting my fill of boat exhaust, we struck back to sea to head back to Sliema. The seas were a bit choppy and the skies a bit grey, but we eventually made it back to port. Dinner in a traditional Maltese restaurant rounded out the intrepid day, with Gozo wine and delicious stewed rabbit. After, a heaping, Frank-sized portion of ice cream was served at a local cafe which rounded out the evening.
Day Four
Driving a car on Malta is an interesting proposition. We pre-booked a car a month beforehand, before we found out that some amount of Maltese drivers are drunk…including the police. From the airport car rental area, we drove to the town of Marsoxlokk, home of a delightful fishing village. Even though it was packed with other tourists, we made our way through the alternatively smelly and delicious-smelling outdoor market. After the market, we escaped the throngs of tourists to Wied iz-Zurreiq, home of shallow-water scuba driving and unstable boat tours to dubious rock outcroppings. The saving grace is that I got to hold a Maltese Falcon (but actually a North American hawk) on a gloved hand. The bird of prey was incredibly light due to it’s hollow bones but it was incredible to have perched on my arm. It made me wonder why pirates bothered having parrots on their shoulders, when they could have had a badass raptor instead.
After bird-of-preying, I boarded a small skiff on a tour of Wied iz-Zurreiq’s cliffs and caves. The seas were a bit rough but several interesting rock formations and arches were seen. From the edge of the sea, we headed towards the Mnajdra and Tarxien Temples. Also older than the Egyptian pyramids, these two temples were more technically interesting than the comparative temples on Gozo. They dramatically overlooked the Mediterranean Sea and you could walk through temples in the UV-protected shade. I took a quick detour to see one of the famous Maltese watchtowers, originally constructed by the Order of the Maltese Knights to defend the island from Turkish and Arab invaders. The watchtower was absolutely bleach white against the azure sea. From the watchtower, it was possible to see a small islet where explorers had found shards of pottery and hunting tools used by pre-historic man. The British settlers on Malta established a small chapel on the island, but it was destroyed in the 1970’s during NATO navy training exercises.
We headed northwest up the coast to the Dingli Cliffs, which were absolutely stunning. Although it was impossible to see the Libya or Tunisian coastline from this high point, the views were incredible. From the cliffs, we got ourselves a bit lost on our way to the beautiful and ancient city of Mdina. Along with Mdina, your intrepid traveler checked out Rabat, which was very quiet on a Sunday afternoon.
From Rabat, we turned in the rental car and headed back to our hotel. A quick jaunt up the coastline from Sliema was the Tigne Point, where I saw one of the best sunsets I’ve ever seen.
Day Five
On the fifth day, I woke up early and took a taxi to the airport for a flight back to Germany. Until my flight departed, I watched fellow travelers jam on a piano set up by the Yamaha company.
Travel Frankly 