Summer in Malta

This morning I tested myself and was negative. Woohoo! That means I am off to Malta!!I packed up my stuff and headed down to the beach for breakfast. I found a little café yesterday that had an awesome sounding eggs benedict so that was my destination.

I was a bit early as they didn’t open until 9am but at least I was first to order and had my food quickly! I chose the ham hock benedict. Sourdough toast, smashed pea pesto, ham hock, apple, poached eggs, pumpkin seeds and apple hollandaise. Unfortunately the apple hollandaise was either non-existent or so thin that as soon as it was put on the eggs, it ran straight off and soaked into the other stuff. It was still very nice though.

 

After breakfast I went back, checked out of my room and headed north to Gatwick Airport. My flight was schedule for 1.30pm with bag drop from 11.30am but they have said queues could be very long so arrive very early. Fortunately for me, it was super quiet! I dropped my bags, had my vaccination certificate eyeballed and proceeded through security. And then….I was straight into Duty Free! There were no immigration counters that process people leaving the country! I was very shocked! I guess I am used to the Aussie way of doing things, so something to get used to. It is the same as if I boarded a domestic flight!

 

Anyways, once they announced the gate everyone made their way to it and then found out we needed a passenger locator form for Malta. Oops! I quickly jumped online and completed it. Our plane boarded on time and the flight went smoothly.

 

Upon arriving at Malta, we were funneled into queues for Immigration clearance and I got my first stamp in my UK passport! A little bit exciting! It didn’t take long but then we were taken to the Health Checks queues. These took longer, especially when you have to redo the passenger locator forms! On the plus side, by the time I got through and down to baggage claim, my suitcase was waiting for me!

 

After a long walk to the rental car place, I finally got my car for the week. This time I got an Opel Corsa. It is definitely a BIG step down from the VW Golf I had in Cornwall. No push button start/stop, no wireless charging and my biggest gripe…..sat nav does not work. Not through the inbuilt system, nor through connecting my phone with a cable or Bluetooth. This makes driving in a new country VERY difficult.

 

I eventually made it to my accommodation and checked in. After driving around for a bit, I had to return and ask where the car park is. Certainly extremely difficult to find as it is not signposted and the entry is nowhere near the hotel. My room is lovely. I have an ocean view room which is huge. The hotel is fairly new and unfortunately the finishing’s are poor. The floor has builders residue on it, the tiles in the bathroom are missing group in places, and there are limited facilities (nowhere to hang the hand towel for example). Other than that, it has a fridge, a huge bed, a TV with Chromecast and an awesome air con!

 

 

 

By now it was 8pm and I was starving so I went in search of food. I settled on a kebab and took it to the seashore to eat. Then it was back to my room to settle in for the night.

 

Thursday morning I woke after a long 8hr sleep which was lovely. It was already 26^oC and headed for 30^oC with a real feel of 37^oC. Yikes! My plan for today was to drive down to Valletta and spend the day exploring.

 

After breakfast, I packed a bag and jumped in the car. Google Maps said it would take 35mins to get down there. I had previously read that parking inside Valletta was extremely difficult so it is best to park outside the walls in Floriana. So that was where I headed. Unfortunately, every public carpark I found was full! And in an effort to try and turn around, I ended up INSIDE Valletta’s walls and got lost trying to get out! The roads are 1 way, extremely narrow and steep. And I had no GPS running. When I did manage to find my way to a main road to leave the city, I cut off a car as there were no lines on the ground and didn’t know I was meant to stop and let them through! They were not happy! By the time I got back to Floriana I was just about having a nervous breakdown! Eventually I found a paid underground carpark and zoomed in.

 

From the carpark it was a short walk into the walled city of Valletta (like 5mins). There is a big fountain and then you cross through the gates into the city. It is an interesting city. Malta is exceptionally pale. The footpaths are cream, the buildings are cream, the sand is cream, the rocks are cream. The tiles on the ground are also slippery and shiny. It is curious that they are shiny & slippery but potentially mega ancient! 

I walked through the streets, up and down all the stairs and hills, past interesting buildings, looking at the views. A small café had been recommended by someone in one of the travel Facebook groups I am in so I headed there for a Maltese sandwich. I chose one that had Parma ham, brie and apple pear chutney. It was alright but nothing to rave about. I

 

Next I went to the St John’s Co-Cathedral. It is an extremely ornate cathedral in the centre of the city. The ceiling is painted and the walls decorated. There are several alcoves which all feature altars, sculptures and paintings. The floor is covered in tombstones and 100% marble. The whole lot of heavily gilded in 24 carat gold. It is extremely elaborate and very nice.

Next I went looking for the Upper Burrakka gardens. Apparently there are some great views from the top. And yes, there were! You can look down at the gun battery as well.

 

By now it was roasting so I went in search of gelato. I settled on a popular place and had a mixed berry and mango cup. It was nice and cooling. Then it was back to the gardens for the 4pm gun firing. I have never seen a cannon being fired before. They used to fire the cannons to tell people when the gates to the city would open or close, and the 12pm firing was used for boats to set their time keeping devices to for accuracy.

 

After that, I collected the car and headed to Lidl. The water in my hotel room is disgusting (soapy kind of taste) so I needed to buy some water. I rarely buy water as tap water is usually good so this was a big haul for me!

 

Then I headed back to the hotel, changed and went straight up to the rooftop infinity pool. One of the best things about my hotel is that it is adults only so the pool was lovely and quite. The water was so warm! The same temperature as my skin so it was great, floating in there overlooking the ocean.

Lastly for the day was dinner. I decided on a gastropub in Bugibba Square for a traditional Maltese meal. I ordered the rabbit in white wine gravy. I didn’t know what to expect, and what I got was 6 pieces of bony in pieces of meat. Some of you know that I do not eat chicken with bones (unless I don’t have a choice) and it turns out rabbit is the same! The meat was very dry and whilst it tasted alright, it is not something I would have again unless it was boneless. Not sure if you can buy rabbit breasts or rabbit thighs though…..

 

The next morning I woke up early and headed down south of Valletta to the Hal Saflieni Hypogeum. It is an underground Neolithic structure that is around 6000 years old. To preserve the structure, an environmentally controlled building has been constructed over it and strict limitations are in place. Only 80 people per day can visit the site (10 per hour), you cannot touch anything, you cannot bring anything in with you except the audio guide and photography is banned. When you arrive, you put all your belongings into a supplied locker and they give you an audio guide that you hold to your ear. You enter one room and watch a video, then move to another room and watch another video which also has some artefacts in it. Then finally you get taken into the sealed site. A series of metal walkways and sensor lighting has been installed. The guide walks ahead and stops at a certain point. Your audio guide (programmed to your chosen language) gives you the information and points out features. This continues for about 40mins. The structure consists of a series of tunnels and chambers over 3 levels. The oldest are at the top and would have originally been above ground level. It is extremely humid and warm inside. The humidity is actually keeping the limestone in perfect condition, and the colour of the ochre paintings vibrant. It is really very interesting. You can see photos online and you can take a virtual tour on Google Arts and Culture.The pictures below are screenshot from the website https://heritagemalta.org/hal-saflieni-hypogeum/ and I highly recommend you check them out. 

 

Afterwards, I took a short walk to the Tarxien Temples and visited the ruins. This is an outdoor site with a large shade sail over it. This one was also very interesting and has numerous sculptures. This site is around 5000 years old and not in the best condition. Last century (I think it was the 1970’s) to stabilize the structure, people covered some of the larger stones with a cement mix to give stability. Unfortunately, they didn’t know that cement damages limestone and some of the stones are in extremely poor condition.

 

Next I went to Sliema to see the Roman Baths. These are square pools carved into the rocks at the edge of the sea. They are now used by the public for swimming and cooling off in the summer heat.

I continued walking along and found a juice bar called Dr Juice. They had a raspberry lemon-aid that sounded awesome and it was absolutely perfect for the hot summer day! I also got some pastizzi (traditional pastries) to try. They are quite yummy, cheese being my favourite filling. They are very flaky and buttery

Then it was time to head back to my hotel and chill in the roof top pool. It was very windy so the umbrellas had been removed. I only stayed a short time..

 

Saturday was also extremely windy. I had a tour booked to go to Gozo and Comino Islands. My pick up was fine, but the next stop the couple were missing and we had to wait 20mins for them!! They didn’t even apologise! So rude! Once we got to the harbour at the northern tip of the island, we were told to “wait here and someone come get you”. We waited for 10mins, then someone came and told us to follow him. We ended up boarding the public ferry and when I questioned this (we were supposed to use the company’s private boat) I was told they changed it because of the weather. I further questioned about our trip to Comino Island (Blue Lagoon & Crystal Lagoon swim stops) I was told that was also cancelled. So my day went downhill. Not a single ounce of communication from the company regarding the change of plans. We had paid for this addition to the tour and I was not happy about missing it. After we arrived in Gozo we were led over to the tuk tuks and got in. Then our tuk sat there for 20mins while the men talked, argued, smoked and one of them went to the office to sort something out. Eventually the guides came back and said we could go. Now, on the website it says that we would visit 13 attractions on Gozo so I was also confused when the guide said to us that it was our day and we could go wherever we wanted. Huh?

 

The first stop was Sanna Cliffs. This had a view over the cliffs and was alright. It was here I found out that Malta has zero fresh water. All the water used for drinking, showering, growing crops etc. is desalinated water. This explains why the water in my hotel is gross.

Next we went to Xlendi and he gave us 30mins to walk around. The town is tiny so we were done in 10-15mins so I found a shady spot to sit for a bit.

Next up we went to Marsalforn Bay for lunch. We had all paid to have it included and it was a traditional Maltese lunch. First we were served a bruschetta, then a sandwich but served like a pizza and finally a piece of nougat for dessert.

After lunch we went past the Xwejni salt pans. Only a few are used to harvest salt nowadays, and by 2 families only.

 

Next was a stop at the Ta Pinu church where people go to receive a miracle.

 

Second last for the day was the Citadel. It is a large walled area with ruins, buildings etc. It had good views too.

On the way back to the ferry our guide stopped at a lookout above the harbour. From here you can see Comino Island and the Blue Lagoon.

 

After returning from the hotel I had a cold shower to wash away the dust and sweat, then headed out in search of dinner. I settled on an Italian place and had an authentic (no cream) carbonara. It was delicious.

 

Sunday I had another sleep in, then headed out for a day of exploring. First stop was the city of Mdina. I found parking outside the city walls and then walked in. People actually live in Mdina and they have their own police station! It is a series of narrow streets, old buildings and a big cathedral. It is quite a pretty city, and very small so you can walk down every street in half an hour.

 

 

From Mdina I walk to Rabat and visited the St Paul’s Catacombs. There are so many! I visited a few of them and then it was like “seen one, seen them all”. They are underground burial chambers, some small, some large. All very humid.

 

Next I went in search of the Blue Grotto. From above you get a great view, from sea level you can take a boat tour through it. The wind was still strong so I skipped the boat tour and went in search of the pathway for the aerial view. It is very cool.

 

Then it was on to the village of Marsaxlokk, a fishing village. I had decided to skip the early morning fish market and visit in the afternoon when it would be quieter. The harbour has lots of multicoloured boats, many of them row boats. Every day the fisherman sell their catch here so the village has the freshest seafood in Malta. I went in search of food. I felt like some prawns and calamari. I selected one restaurant and ordered a prawn cocktail and calamari, after confirming they are both locally caught. Well the prawns are not what I call prawns. They are those tiny shrimp things American’s have. They were also quite salty. The calamari looked like it was whole baby squid, with tentacles and the purple skin. It was nothing like the calamari at home. It also had this purple goo in it. Unfortunately it was quite disappointing. I miss our Aussie prawns and calamari.

  

  

 

Then I went to check out St Peter’s Pool. By now it was mid afternoon and scorching hot. So that means every man and his dog were at the pool. It is a natural pool/inlet on the edge of the sea. After a narrow, nail-biting drive through skinny single lane roads (I do NOT want to scratch my brand new rental car!) I got to the completely full car park. I managed to turn around and left straight away.

 

My last stop for the day was the Mosta Rotunda. It is the third largest dome in Europe and functions as a basilica. It was interesting inside. Outside the Rotunda is an underground war shelter. It features some displays of tools used by various professions and also a room which is setup as a bedroom.

 

Monday I decided to head back to Gozo on my own to explore the places I wanted to see that were skipped on the tour. I drove north to the ferry and boarded. The trip is only 25mins so nice and quick. My first stop was the Tal Mixta Cave. It is a cave in the side of a cliff that looks over Ramla Beach. I had seen photos and wanted a good one that I could possibly get printed on a canvas.

 

Next I drove down a VERY rough road through a valley to Calypso Cave & Lookout. The cave and end of the lookout have been closed but you can still see the view over Ramla Beach from the opposite side. Along the way I passed a vineyard and saw some green and purple grapes on the same bunch.

 

Next I went past the Xwejni salt pans again and this time stopped for a good look. Plus it wasn’t overly window so I wasn’t getting sand blasted!

 

Next on my list was the Wied il-Meilah Window. The road to this place took me along a very bumpy, single lane gravel road. You follow a walkway along the side of a cliff edge to the lookout at the end. It is pretty cool. I can’t believe there used to be a staircase down to the water! It would be like being in a washing machine filled with rocks!

 

Then I headed back to the ferry, but unfortunately a road closure forced me to make a detour and I took the wrong road. I ended up on a narrow, bumpy, damaged dirt road. By narrow, I had the plants on one side scraping the side of the car and the drivers side barely missing the limestone rock wall. Not impressed! I finally made it back to the ferry terminal and joined the boarding queue.

 

After I arrived back on Malta I went in search of a salad for dinner. It was good but not very filling so I ordered some pasta from a restaurant around the corner. It was delicious.

 

Today is my last full day in Malta and I have a tour booked for the Blue Lagoon. The boat departure point is only a 10min walk from my hotel which was awesome. On the trip out to Comino Island we passed St Paul Island which has a big sculpture of St Paul on top, and then some caves which were used by smugglers. Whilst we headed toward the island, I watched some Europeans apply sunscreen……I can definitely understand why they all turn into lobsters each summer!! These people were putting one small dollop on an entire limb!

 

We passed some more caves and then the famous Elephant Rock.

By the time we arrived at Blue Lagoon the sun was fully out and the sky clear, which made the water an incredibly impressive blue.  It was stunning! Our boat docked and we went ashore. There is limited sandy beach area and also limited seating area so I opted to pay for a deck chair and umbrella. I went to check out the water and only made it to my knees! It was cold! I went and sat back in my chair for a bit, watching the world go by. Eventually I braved the water and it was nice and refreshing! We had 4hrs at the lagoon and then we boarded the boat.

 

After collecting the people from Gozo, we made a stop at Crystal Lagoon. This is a lagoon with a big cave. There’s no beach here, it is free swimming. The water is roughly 3-4m deep and crystal clear. I swam from the boat to the cave and could clearly see the rocks on the bottom of the lagoon on the way. We only had a one hour stop so I spent the rest of the time on the boat, trying to dry out.

 

Then it was time to head back. After a long shower and packing of my suitcase, I headed out for dinner. I chose a German restaurant today for a schnitzel. It was ok but nothing to rave about. My choice in food in Malta has been very hit and miss! I am looking forward to some home cooking when I get home!

 

Tomorrow morning I have to get up early, have breakfast and make my way to the airport. At the airport I have to have a pre-departure covid test before I can check in and bag drop. Then it will be fly time!

 

Malta is definitely worth checking out if you like history, natural scenery and/or beaches. It is only a 4hr ferry from Sicily, or a short flight from many cities in Europe.

 

I hope you enjoyed my Malta trip!