I'm on a sun bed, with the ocean on one side of me and a swimming pool on the other...
I'm sitting on a raised sun deck and when I look down, I can see a guy snorkeling in the clear blue sea below me, his flippers making little splashes and the yellow tip of his snorkel peeping in and out of the water as he bends his head down further to catch a glimpse of some interesting sea life. And when I look up I can see a yacht perched just off the headland that's jutting out into the water, there are people jumping off the back of the yacht into the water. I can also see a speed boat ripping through the water, leaving its white wake behind it, and another smaller boat top heavy with people in diving gear on their way out to sea... Seriously, one of these days I am going to learn to swim, then I will be out in the speed boat (or the yacht) instead of sitting on the shore being envious...
Hello from sunny Malta!
I'm not going to give you a history (or geography) lesson on Malta, you can look it up for yourself if you are interested. But even this little Island, that has been invaded by just about every empire over the course of its history, was not quite ready for the invasion of the Irish last Friday. We immediately set up base camp at the pool and it was full steam ahead with our occupation. A battalion of women from Dublin are not a force to be reckoned with, which the pool attendant learned very quickly and seemed resigned to his fate. And the poor waiter at breakfast on Saturday morning surrendered almost as quickly under the barrage of requests for tea bags! Can we Irish not go anywhere without a cup of tea?
I don't drink tea.
I don't eat rabbit either, but it was on every menu I read, and seems to be the local delicacy. So, Instead of the rabbit I tried the other local delight, ftira, bread made the Maltese way! A bit like focaccia, but nicer! I might have to eat more of that...
Over the last few days, to get my bearings and to see some of this Island, I took the bus down the coast. Past the salt flats, past the look out towers dotted around the island, passed the imposing forts, as far as Salima and Viletta, where I got off the bus. On each trip my hair got a sunshine blow dry and by the time I got off the bus I looked like I had stuck my finger into a socket and got an electric shock! Oh well, I'm on holidays so who cares. It was pretty windy on the upper deck of the open top bus, but a treat to be able to sit up there, in the sunshine.
I did all the touristy stuff, had the history lesson, took the harbour cruise, had a look in some of the 365 beautifully ornate churches that are all over these group of islands, and also checked out those lookout towers and forts that are as much a part of this island as the churches. Religion and armies, they always seem to be intertwined in history!
I also, on the recommendation of a friend back home, took a ferry to the smaller island north of Malta, Gozo. He told me it was like going back in time. Well, he wasn't wrong...
The ferry trip was lovely, not long, only about 30 minutes. I stood up front to look out at Gozo as it approached. That was Ok and lasted for about five minutes until I was asked by a group of Turkish students to take their photograph. That was also OK, until they all handed me their cameras and phones, only about thirty of them. I didn't learn any Turkish, but they learned some Irish swear words! We were at Gozo before I knew it.
My friend was right. Initially the ferry terminal on the island looked like any modern ferry terminal, but a few minutes out into the country side and I could see what he meant.
I could have been, except for the sunshine, in the west of Ireland. It was like driving through Connemara. Mountainous, rocky and tilled fields on either side of the road, all sectioned off by little dry stone walls. The only thing missing were the sheep. In fact I didn't see any animals at all. Obviously I didn't expect to see any rabbits, but lamb is another item on every menu, so there must be some of them around somewhere? Hiding from the invasion of the Irish no doubt.
Anyway despite the lack of grazing animals, I enjoyed my trip round the island, through the very narrow streets of the little towns where the new buildings have been built in the same architectural style as the old ones to keep the character of Gozo intact, all the way down to Xlandi Bay, where we had lunch. We sat in a restaurant so close to the waters edge that I had to shield my ftira bread and goats (don't know where they were hiding either) cheese from the spray every time a wave hit the little wall beside us. But I'm not complaining, it was glorious to be able to sit outside, in the sunshine, eating. And again the water I was looking into was so clear that you could see right to the bottom...
As usual, I will be sorry to be going home leaving the sunshine behind. I'll have to learn how to make ftira so I can relive the experience at home.
As i said, I didn't learn any Turkish, but I did learn some Maltese (from a German)!
So reluctantly, it's 'sahha' from Malta, for now...
