Travelling Trio

Malta – two and a half months of bliss…

• By Denise
• March 1, 2016
• No Comments

A mix of the old, very old and the new. What struck me when we first arrived was just how warm the weather was in winter – the crystal clear blue sea and a constant view of the combination of cream and white coloured brick homes settled against the blue sky. Some of these homes were built hundreds of years ago and others – just yesterday.

We are staying in a seaside village called St Paul’s Bay on the northern side of the island. From here we are able access all parts of the island and enjoy a peaceful existence for the next couple of months. After settling into our apartment one of the first things to do was grocery shopping – but not until we had sorted our bellies in the local restaurant! Our first introduction to Maltese cuisine and yes, it was ok! One thing we found out later though – it’s a courtesy to tip about 10% of the bill and of course we didn’t do this – ouch – not a good first impression of us at the ‘local’.

View from our balcony…

We had worked out where the shopping markets are and to be fair, there are not a lot.  The local supermarket isn’t too far away so we stocked up on the basics and are now sorted for a while. We even have vouchers to redeem the next time we shop there! The bus system is efficient and quite cheap. We have a bus stop each way outside our apartment which means we have quick access to town and the main city, Valletta. Travelling around Malta is easy and cheap if you have a Tallinja card. This enables you to have unlimited travel on the buses at no more than 26euros per month. Applying for one of these cards is easy – it’s the processing of the card that takes the time. I have seen and heard that it could be anything from two weeks to two months until we receive the card. Lets hope it’s the former or we won’t be getting any use of it!!!

Did I mention that Dave is in heaven? Well, he is. This type of location is everything he’s ever wanted – the sea, the warm weather, relaxed people and comfortable apartment!

Our first trip to Valletta was inspiring. The city is surrounded by a huge and I mean gigantic solid stone wall at least a metre wide and goodness – about 25m high?. The beautiful contrast between stone and sea blue and sky blue is both serene and postcard perfect. It was not always serene however because during the 2nd World War it was a different story.

Early in our Malta stay we ventured to Tuffieha Bay and I jotted down my thoughts while there.

As I sit on the beach at Tuffieha Bay, Malta I am contemplating just how good life really is. Dave is to my left of the bay snorkelling the fine waters of Malta and Carter – our ten year old – is quite independent and off finding something to eat from the café on the beach and as he has his own money he is keen to see what it will buy.

Just down the beach a small group of people have started cooking a bbq with the mandatory meat patties all the while feeding the small fire they have started. It seems Carter has found something to eat as he is now walking back with what looks to be a milkshake in his hands…Oh actually its fries!!

One young man is getting frustrated on the beach – he has been trying to sort out his parachute and it just isn’t working. After some time – and a quick phone call – I see that he is now packing up….looks like he will have to give it a go another day.

A surfer has just arrived to take in the waves and one paddler has been trying their luck for some time now. Both are in wetsuits as it is winter and the water is cool. Unfortunately the water needs to be warm for me to want to get in – but I just love watching the waves break and roll in. The sand at this beach is a rich golden colour and mixed with the blue sky with the odd white puffy cloud and the colourful hues of the ocean this makes for a wonderfully peaceful day out. Plenty of time to contemplate.

MALTA UPDATED

At first we thought we had made a mistake in decided to stay in Malta for the European winter (a full two and a half months) but on reflection it was a truly wonderful and relaxing time of our travels. A busy day for us was making the difficult decision as to what we would cook for dinner. If only life was always this stress free!

I mentioned earlier that we felt the Maltese cuisine was “alright” – well this was true – it was ok but definitely not anything for us to get excited about so our cooking was fairly much exactly what we would cook if we were at home in New Zealand. We did have a few treats at times including whitebait on my birthday and good old New Zealand lamb shanks on occasion. The meat was outstanding and proved once again that our best NZ meat gets exported overseas!

The Tallinja cards (bus transport) proved to be a real issue for us and after being told it would be a few weeks at most we were finally issued our cards in January and got to use them for just the final three weeks of our stay. Malta Transport contract out the bus service to an independent company and of course everyone blames everyone else when there is an issue. The efficient bus service I mentioned in my earlier post was also a little premature because we had a number of times the buses were either late or didn’t arrive at all. Not so nice when we end up waiting over two hours in the evening (it’s still winter so gets really cold at night) with just light day clothes on! The drivers offer no apology and just blame the office….Another example where a driver swore to the passengers on the bus that next time someone pushed the button to stop the bus they were not going to ‘f…ing’ stop the bus. Oh boy – this certainly wasn’t a great example for Carter. Oh, I almost forgot that the buses travel like they are on a roller coaster – so very fast rounding tight corners we were so surprised that there were no accidents. There were plenty of close-calls though. Now, having said all that – we used the buses on a regular basis and still managed to see a good part of both Malta and the island of Gojo.

Here’s a quick rundown on the history of Malta to give you some understanding of the island.

Artefacts found on the island suggest the Maltese Islands were settled in around 5200BC mainly by Stone Age hunters or farmers arriving from Sicily and some megalithic temples still stand at sites such as Hagar Qim and Mnajdra dating to around 3500BC. Parts of these temples are in relatively good shape considering their age and their surroundings and we have been lucky enough to visit these temples and can certainly understand why they were built in the particular location. The view overlooking the crystal blue Mediterranean certainly is amazing.

Since that time, Phoenician traders used the islands as a stop on their trade routes and then much later the Romans also inhabited the islands. In 58AD Paul the Apostle lived on the islands and began preaching Christian faith which is still prevalent today. Over the next 1500 years Malta was subjected to various different “rules” including Roman, Greek, Arab, Normans and then the Spanish. It wasn’t until 1565 (after Spain had give Malta to the Knights of Malta on a perpetual lease) when Malta was able to withstand a huge attack by the Ottomans (which is now known as the ‘Great Siege of Malta’) that the island grew to what it is today. During the reign of the Knights – the city of Valletta was protected by immense fortifications and watchtowers were built at various points surrounding the island. The Knights also completed many architectural and cultural projects of which many stand today. However, their reign ended when Napoleon captured the islands in 1798 but this was short lived as in 1800 the Maltese with help from the British and Sicilians blockaded the islands forcing the French to surrender. Malta created a Declaration of Rights in which they agreed to be under the protection of the King of the U.K and Great Britain and Ireland.

Malta was used as a half-way stop for ships travelling between the Strait of Gibraltar and Egypt and also became a central trade route for the British travelling on their way to India. During the First World War, Malta was known as ‘the Nurse of the Mediterranean Sea’ as many wounded soldiers were sent there to recover. It was in World War II that Malta was used as a listening post, reading German messages and being a base for the British to launch attacks on the Italian Navy. This assistance came at a great price with the islands being heavily bombed by the Italians and the Germans. Somehow the islands survived.

In 1964, Malta became an independent country but retained Queen Elizabeth as its Head of State. In 1974 it then became a republic and in 2004 joined the European Union.

So as you can imagine this island is full of historical sites of interest – some of which are still in great condition and others not. During our stay on the island we were privy to a visit from the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and Camilla, the Members of CHOGM including John Key and goodness knows how many other celebrities! It was interesting to see the extent of the security required during these visits and as an example our favourite beach (Golden Bay – mentioned earlier) was closed off from the public for a whole week before the royals arrived!!

Before we arrived in Malta we had been told they celebrate Christmas in style and this was something we were keen to experience. Early in December the Christmas lights are throughout the towns, at every intersection and trees and decorations can be found in almost every other home. A variety of traditional decorations formed most of the window displays and the baby Jesus in the manger was a popular scene.

We booked ourselves into a local restaurant for a Christmas Eve buffet and both Dave and Carter loved it and decided we would be returning! Christmas Day was another buffet but this time with a Maltese theme. We had no idea what to expect on the day except for a verbal representation made to us that it would be awesome but unfortunately the experience fell flat. There was no Christmas music, the food was bland, we were just in a big hall and there was no Santa or other decorations to make it look like Christmas. Oh, well, lucky we had our own decorations at our apartment and could play Christmas music ourselves!

Popeye’s Village in the background

One of our highlights on Malta was a day trip to Popeye’s Village. This is a the actual village used in the Robin Williams’ film Popeye and has been maintained and turned into a tourist spot for visitors. Here we enjoyed a boat ride around the bay, watched Popeye and Olive Oil in action, explored the movie set and actually got to star in our very own Popeye Movie and have the DVD to prove it! I am now just waiting for the call from Hollywood….

A café in Xemxija Bay (pronounced ‘jemjeya’) became a favourite stop for us. It was a lovely walk from our apartment and the hot chocolates and coffees were exceptional. We were able to sit outside and enjoy the sun into the evening while talking to other tourists or working out what places we would explore in the following week. Another popular place for us was the town of Bugibba which was just within walking distance and then if we had been to the supermarket was a quick bus ride home with our bags full of groceries. It wasn’t long before we found a hotel that had a swimming pool and hot pool available to the public for a monthly fee so we joined up and every second day made use of these facilities.

New Year’s Eve was spent in the wonderful city of Valletta in its main square and this was a time when we felt very underdressed. It was mid-winter so we were wrapped up in our colourful North Face jackets and keeping warm in our jeans and trainers. Well, everyone else (including children) were dressed up in beautifully tailored clothing including fur jackets if necessary, high boots on the women, suit jackets and ties for the men. Oh boy talk about the Italian influence – it was very European! Everyone was so well behaved and despite alcohol being allowed to be consumed in public we did not see one example of bad behaviour at all. Families were enjoying the night and little children were absolutely safe. The countdown was flashed across the historic Presidential Palace walls and it was time to continue to party. Public transport (the buses) continued to run until 2am so we had a fabulous Maltese new year’s experience.

Further Update to be continued – there’s still so much more to say!

Thank you for your patience 🙂