Wednesday, and five weeks gone....

After writing yesterday that we are always up in time to see the dawn break, today we slept til 7:00am. We had a lazy morning then decided to go back to Mgarr for some walking around. It was supposed to be the same weather-wise as yesterday but the sun never really burned through the overcast sky.

We are waiting for a bus in Mosta. The roads, even the main ones, are too narrow for delivery trucks and there is no such thing as a back alley or lane. So they all just stop and put on flashing lights and do their business. This fellow was delivering to the fish store and parked in half of the bus stop. If the bus had come along the driver would have just stuck his nose into what was free and people would get on and off.

Despite the fact that everyone we talk to says how bad the traffic is and that there are way too many cars on Malta, they all seem to work on a live and let live basis. Maybe because nobody wants to give up their vehicle so they have to accept the way it is.

 

We had another good lunch in Mgarr at the same restaurant as yesterday. We sat just inside as it was cooler today. These two old guys were there when we came in and where still there when we left. I was facing towards them and they never stopped talking with each other the whole time. They shared a bottle of wine, ate at least three courses, got ice cream desserts from the cooler then sat back to talk some more over espressos. They didn't people watch they just ate and talked. It was very nice for me to 'people watch' them.

 

This is how a row of apartment blocks must start. One twelve foot wide building with a garage. The windows and balconies are on the other side but I wanted to show the solid block side where another apartment could be attached. There are very few single family dwellings. When you do see one they look like mansions set out in the middle of no where. There must be areas where there are stand alone homes but we haven't seen one yet. No such thing as a subdivision of homes with yards. Land is too scare to waste on 'yards'.

Waiting for another bus on the way home. I think these are very smart bus benches. They only take up space when needed and they are always in a folded up position so there's never any bird poop on them when you need one.

We saw this sign as we waited and thought it meant fish and chips. Turns out 'Fniek' means rabbits.....so Rabbit and Chips Malta style....I have to try rabbit before I leave. It is a very traditional Maltese dish.

There is a tiny hair shop, 'Snips', a few doors up from our apartment and I stopped in when we got home to see about a hair cut. The lady was by herself, no customers and would cut my hair right away. I went home and got rid of my pack, washed up and went back. She is originally from Valletta but 10 years ago she and her husband decided they wanted a quieter lifestyle and they moved to Gozo to a little village called Ghasri. She commutes to St Paul's Bay to her shop four days a week. They plan to retire in a couple of years and spend half their time in Bulgaria where the cost of living is very reasonable. She was delighted and encouraged to hear about our travels as her husband worries that they might be getting too old to do a lot of traveling. He is 62 :)......

I now have a really short haircut. She discouraged me from doing the magenta colouring telling me I was too pale skinned for such a strong colour. I took her advice. I like my short hair and it's so easy to look after. Bob did a very good job taking me from my longish hair to this new short but I needed a little more of a professional cut this time. He isn't insulted by my decision. Sherry asked me for a picture so I did my best to do a 'complimentary' selfie. Never happy with the outcome but it is what it is. I think I need a little more sun on my now exposed forehead. It is winter here in Malta and these stone buildings are hard to heat so I find myself wearing a scarf inside and out.

 

 

 

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A Day of Sunshine

Every morning we are up before dawn. We get to sit with our coffee and watch the sky lighten across the bay over Millieha. At night we can watch the lights of the traffic winding their way down the hairpin turns of the road from town to the bay. As the day begins we can also watch the lights of the morning traffic winding down the hill. For the last few days it has been a full moon that has set behind Millieha. The moon sets, the sun rises and sparkles off the windows as the street lights go out. It is a beautiful transformation from night to day.

Geographically Malta sits somewhat between Italy and Greece. I'm not sure how quite to express this but the colour of their cultures seem to fit the same as their locations. All Greek structures appear to be created of white stone. Buildings in Italy comply to the warm colours of red, yellows and browns. And Malta, in the middle is mostly the subtle tones of aged ochres and yellows.

My iPad would never be able to capture the transformation so Bob took this picture with his camera. It is just before sunrise and a bit hard to see that the lights are still on. It is a photo that tells so much. It shows the density of two small towns that are separated only by the tiered and rock walled farm plots that feed their communities and the bay where fishermen bring in the fresh catch every day. Towns are often not separated by much more than a kilometre and sometimes by only by a few blocks.

We spent the morning sitting on the beach at Golden Bay. I had my feet in the Mediterranean Sea for the first time, felt the sand between my toes. It was wonderful for a winter's day. We had lunch in Mgarr in the best, and possibly the only restaurant set in the square in front of the local church that is known as the 'Egg Church' because it's construction, in the 1930's, was funded from the sale of eggs by the local citizens.

 

 

 

The people from the cars in this picture are all eating in the IL-Barri restaurant behind the potted plants to the right. We sat outside at one of four tables and there were probably at least twenty people eating inside. More food descriptions....seafood penne, Maltese style and two HopLeaf beers. Simple fare but tasty.

Our bus riding skills are definitely improving and we were home sooner than we expected. We do our own version of Hop on, Hop off bussing without paying to ride in one of these. A rough sketch because they don't stop for very long. One lady stood up on the top deck, took a picture of the Egg Church and they were off.

 

 

Observation.... I don't think this HSBC branch has to worry about being robbed with the 'Pulizija' station right next door. We are both happier in these smaller communities, eating locally and absorbing the contrasts of noisy traffic and a peaceful lunch. At one point a dump truck full to the brim with rock passed our table within ten feet.

Signage intrigues me because of the language.

The Bus 101 to Gnejna is pronounced 'Jenina' like Jemima. Only way you find this out is by asking.

Bus 102 to Ic-Cirkewwa.....Churqua....

 

 

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To Marsascala

On the 29th we move from St Paul's Bay to the southern end of Malta to Marsascala. We decided to make a day and go see where we will staying for our last four weeks. It took us three buses to get to Marsaxlokk where we wandered the waterfront. There was a market of tourist souvenir shops along the promenade. The usual stuff, Luzzus, Osiris eyes, lace and all bits and pieces that people think they need to take home. We have traveled enough to know that we, and our loved ones, don't need any of this.....so we just take pictures instead. Lace umbrellas and table clothes.

 

The sun was out and it was the warmest we have been for at least three weeks. I took advantage of it and sat on a bench to sketch while Bob walked and took pictures.

It is pronounced Marsashlok Bay

This is a picture Bob took that I will try to paint. They were pleased to be asked to have their picture taken.

Marsaxlokk and Marsascala are neighbouring bays that are true fishing villages. They are far enough from Valletta to have less tourists than where we are now. Although St Paul's Bay is very quiet in itself, it is still close to Bugibba and Qarwa which are communities with a lot of British expats in the winter and a very busy tourist population in the summer months.

We took one more bus to Marsascala and found a spot in the sun for lunch along the bay. It is winter here and the Maltese take every advantage to enjoy the warm sunny days. Every couple sits side by side facing into the sun and towards the water. A Maltese couple having lunch beside us were from Marsaxlokk and had come here to this restaurant for lunch. They said it was one of their favourite cafes. He was what he called 'a hobby painter' and she had just started practising with acrylics. They were pleased to see my journal and like other Sketchbook Skool students I passed on the the website information along with Urbansketchers.

We were craving a salad and our waitress promised to tell the chef we needed lots of shrimp on our salad. A half bottle of Chardonnay and a HopLeaf, fresh Ftera bread and it was another lovely lunch. The fly on the table was free.

I think when we move down here we will do a lot less traveling and a lot more sitting in the sun. We have spent the last, almost five weeks trying to see everything in this larger part of Malta, including several trips to Gozo. We have more than three weeks left here and still lots of places to see or revisit.

Our trip home only took two buses and we got off right in front of the Sphinx Pastizzeria and for €1.90 we brought a cheese tortellini home for an easy dinner.

Observations....every small town has a beautiful church. Every bay has its colourful Luzzus and there are always the doors, the balconies and cafes for cappuccinos and wine. All of which I have tried to capture with my sketches so far. Brilliant blue skies and ochre cities have not disappointed my preconceptions of Malta.

I've seen the rows of recycling bins but nobody uses garbage cans. All garbage is put out in some kind of plastic bag. Garbage trucks roll through town everyday picking up whatever is set out on the sidewalks. There are a lot of public garbage recepticles on the streets but there is still a lot of litter. Even here, unfortunately, you see a McDonalds bag dropped along the sidewalk. As I had noticed in Italy there are still a lot of smokers and with that comes all the butts on the sidewalks.

A store I saw was called Euroland... I wondered if that was the Maltese equivalent of a dollar store ....yes it is:). Our Home Depot is an Ironmongery and DIY store. A muffler shop is called a Silencer Shop...

 

 

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Back to Gozo

With winds predicted to gust over 70kph we decided it would be a good day to take the ferry and see how good or bad the waters get. Expecting it to be a quiet trip we were quite surprised to find the ferry packed. It is the last day of the two week Christmas season and a Sunday. In true European tradition the Maltese like to be out and walking on Sundays. But even more popular is to go for a drive.

We shared our table inside with two ladies. They were both Maltese but one had been living in Wales for over 50 years and was 'home' to visit her sister. She said she lived in the north of Wales near the town famous for having the longest name. She said after all this time she could still only say half of it. I googled it. Apparently the long version was created for promotional reasons in the 1860's. It is 58 letters long.

Our destination on Gozo today is Xlendi, pronounced Shlendi. It is on the west side of Gozo and we know that the winds are coming from the west so we are expecting to be blown about. It's not cold today just windy and overcast. We are hoping for a restaurant to be open so we can have lunch. By the time we had wandered down the the hill into town it was almost noon. We found several places open and chose one where we could sit by the plastic enclosed wall to watch the wave action just outside. They had propane heaters going and all the servers were wearing sweaters and fingerless gloves to stay warm. Not five minutes after we sat down a big wave came in and we had water on our table. We moved away from the windows and closer to the heaters. By this time the local Sunday crowds were beginning to arrive. When we were finished our lunch all three of the restaurants in the row were filled.

I had Maltese sausage fettuccini with olives and sun dried tomatoes, very good.

Bob chose Taglioni Neri?? I think that's how it was spelled. It was black square pasta with calimari that was also black. He said it was OK. I had a half bottle of Chardonnay and Bob had a pint of his Malta favourite, HopLeaf ale. Lunch was lovely:)

This country is constantly under renovation. You can have a very modernized apartment 'stack' right beside a crumbling down neighbour. I think because it is an island of rock they can't do anything about power lines. They're like black garlands strung from building to building.

And we who have so much property could never imagine opening our front door onto a sidewalk only 2/3 feet from the road and that means the vehicles are only 4/5 feet away.....including huge buses and delivery trucks often going very fast.

An interesting traffic sign. It is a red sign with a big black circle and says 'accident black spot'.......our blind spot equivalent.

 

From Xlendi we are back on the bus to Victoria and then to "Bethlehem", a living Nativity village that has had productions every day over Christmas. Today is the last day. It is supposed to represent a village at the time of the birth of Jesus. There were small huts with people in period clothing making breads, tatting lace, hand spinning sheeps wool. It was a kids paradise with chickens, pigs, donkeys and lots of food, candy and hot drinks. Another family outing. It was very busy so we spent a half hour looking around and left thinking we would beat the crowds back on the ferry. I think the majority of people in the village had to be local Gozitans because the ferry back to Malta was packed again. It was almost dark when we got home. It is always a long day when we go to Gozo because of all the travel.

 

 

 

It was amazing to watch how fast this woman could spin this raw wool onto her hand held spool. I want a sweater from Gozo before we leave. I have a video showing her work but I don't know how to add it to my blog. Another mystery for me to research in this blogging business. Maybe tomorrow.......

Observations.....most older women dye their hair. There doesn't seem to be much of a middle ground between hanging on to the glam factor or totalling letting go. They definitely do not embrace their greyness like we do in North America. I'm thinking about a magenta dye job to go with my short hair. If not here it probably won't happen. Women don't wear sports or outdoor gear type clothing, there's no Lulu Lemon here!! It's skinny jeans, leather jackets and very high heeled boots or shoes. Also lots of hair, eyelashes and nails......just sayin'.

If you see people in light weight travel clothing you know they are tourists. Mostly from Britain or Europe. We have not seen or heard of an American or Canadian in the five weeks we've been here.

My Cabelas, Costco and Keens are serving me well. Everything is lightweight, easy to wash, dry and layer up. Just needed a few more scarves to round out the ensemble, lol......

I find people looking at my purple Keens. It was the same in Italy. They just don't have this style of footwear here.

Monday has been a clean us and clean apartment day. Did our chores this morning. I took my iPhone down to Mobics, the local cel phone shop, to get it synced after getting Koodo to unlock it. The work we go through for the convenience of computers.

We had showers, did some shopping and I went back to get my phone. Five weeks and I still don't seem to understand the concept that most businesses close from 1:00 til 4:00. I have had a very good walking day.

I'm not going back for the phone today. The wind has picked up, I have a glass of wine and the phone can wait til tomorrow. No pictures, no paintings.....it is Monday, my day of rest...except for the blog....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Saturday in the Shops

Life seems to be returning to normal now with Christmas and New Years just a memory. The stormy weather is over and people are out and about doing their regular Saturday chores. We walked the lower Mosta Road looking for a new dish cloth, a pot scrubber and a back-up glue stick for my journal ephemera. Found everything, even some organic peanut butter for me on the delicious local Maltese crusty bread called Ftera.

I found a shop that will sync my iPhone so I can use my Vodafone SIM card and purchased minutes. No time to do it today so I will come back Monday.....Maltese version of Mañana....no hurry for anything:)

The boat owners of the resident harbour boats are out in their punts retrieving buoys and securing tarps......general maintenance after the the wind and waves of the past four days.

What I envisioned and what is the reality here, has hit me somewhat today.....leaving me with a bit of a down feeling. Coming here I wanted to live quietly following and learning about the life of the local Maltese. I said as long as the sun shone I didn't mind how cool it might be. I think the unseasonably cold last few days have been hard for me. When I am cold my body aches. Today we reached the acceptance of there being cooler weather than what we may have expected and but are adjusting with more layers, read 'more scarves', and a little more of the expensive electricity to heat our apartment.

I have learned from our many winters away that you have peaks and valleys during your travels. Today was my valley but already after an afternoon walk to order our next batch of wine and water I feel better. On our way home I stayed outside and sketched our apartment while waiting for our delivery. Apartment blocks are mostly one unit wide, so when you are in an apartment you only have someone above and below you. The next building is stone block separation so you hear nothing. We occasionally hear a chair scraping on the floor from above but other than that it is quiet.

This is a picture of our 'wet bar' lol...wine and water stacked up along our wall. Good Spanish Merlot for $2.15 litre ...can't beat that...water is $.27 cents a litre. Can't quite decide which we drink more of on a daily basis, probably wine, in the true European fashion. It's a good excuse anyway.

Tomorrow is the day we had planned to go back over to Gozo. Weather forecast is for mostly sunny, a high of 17 degrees and winds of up to 72 kph. Storm force 7/8 on the water. Do we or don't we. I guess the worst that can happen is we get seasick and/or stranded on the island. We have talked about it and have decided it will be an exciting excursion however it turns out.

When I start to write my daily report I sometimes get side tracked and that's when I just make a list of observations:).........

This island has no natural resources. It doesn't have enough land to graze cattle or sheep. We have had prime rib from Ireland and Poland. Our butter comes from Ireland. We commented today that we haven't seen any kind of farm implements other than a rototiller. Most of the tiny, rock enclosed fields are hand cultivated and primarily for vegetables. There is always an abundance of fresh fruits and vegetables in many little 'corner' stores.There are fruit trees and small vineyards. It is hard to imagine how this tiny island country survives. We spoke to a woman today who was a tourism representative. She was originally from Ontario, her father is Maltese and she told us it was very rare to see people from western Canada here because it is such a long trip. She moved here 17 years ago to raise her children with their Maltese heritage and also because of the quality of life and free education right through university levels.

Where do they get their power? They have no rivers, no dams.....We've been told that electricity is very expensive. We also see huge solar panel arrays on roof tops. It makes sense because of the amount of sunshine here. People have washing machines but no dryers. Laundry hangs from every apartment balcony.

This is an island country of stone that has survived for thousands of years, occupied by several different countries and cultures but still maintains its Maltese identity and language.

 

 

 

 

 

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Our Second Month in St Paul's Bay

We, and the islands of Malta, have survived this year-end 'winter' storm. Today the sun is shining, the sky is blue and the green sea has calmed down somewhat. All the rain soaked towels are hanging on the back railing and we are getting ready for a day out. Not sure where we're going yet.

The first bus that came along was the direct to Valletta.....problem solved, that is where we will go. It's a long bus ride so it's important to have good seats. We have made this trip a few times mostly standing up and it isn't fun. So the travel gods are with us today and we arrive at the main gate to Valletta about an hour later. It was a different route for us today going through Mosta around Matre Dei, the main hospital for Malta and into Valletta terminal. I chose not to wear a scarf today and as soon as we started down the windy pedestrian streets of Valletta I was cold around my bare neck and almost hairless head. So first stop I get a new scarf....lucky they are so cheap, I don't feel bad at all about maybe having a dozen or so.

A street sweeper for the narrow car-less streets. So many unique ways of doing things.

Recycling bins for glass, paper and plastics. It's good to see these because I don't know how the trash disposal situation is dealt with on the islands. Garbage pickup is everyday, you just put anything outside your door and it will be picked up on any given day. I asked our landlord about recycling and he said just put it all out. We try to keep our plastic water bottles and glass and cardboard separate but we don't really know where it goes or what's done with it.

We walked the shopping streets for an hour. It is very busy and we are hoping that this is the end of the two week Christmas vacationers, mostly from Britain. It really isn't that warm for Europeans to think of coming here for the winter. We had lunch at the Bad Ass Burger Bar again:(.... Along with a beer and a prosecco before we started to go downhill to the water to see all the ancient walls that make Valletta the beautiful fortress it is.

Lucky me! I found another pen shop. Added a new fountain pen to my collection. I'm not really happy with the ink cartridges because they don't seem to be water proof and run when I add paint no matter how long I let it dry.

Coloured doors and balconies. It is hard to imagine living in this ancient city. Yet it is just everyday life to so many people. There is the beautiful Carmelite Dome which I sketched while standing in the most appreciated sunshine, set behind a balcony with laundry drying. I love the contrast of today and yesterday side by side all constructed in varying shades of yellow and gold limestone. Sometimes gritty with the dirt of the ages and other times golden in the glow of afternoon sunlight.

 

 

 

 

We are so happy to be out travelling again today after our three days of being pretty much house bound with bad weather. I sometimes start to hyperventilate thinking how fast our time here is going. We need to see these special places over and over again to really appreciated their beauty and historical value. I would love to be doing more painting but there just don't seem to be enough hours in the days. So my photos help me capture everything and one day I will do more painting from the memories of our time here.

 

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Stormy New Year's Day

Happy New Year to everyone.

We tried really hard to get out today, this stormiest of days. With a break in the rain we decided we'd take the bus to Valletta. It goes along the coast and we would be able to see the storm action along the way.

After a twenty minute wait our bus came along. The driver told us she was only going to Bugibba station. We said that was OK because it's where we transfer to the Valletta bus. Well, as it turns out that's as far as we can go anywhere. The buses are stopping at noon until 3:00pm for New Years Day. It is 11:50 am.

The only option now is to walk home. Our outing took us one hour and ten minutes. Our bus ride took us five minutes. A good news, bad news story. Good news is we got some exercise, fresh air and it didn't rain on us. Bad news, we didn't get very far:(.

So we spent the afternoon again watching the sea batter the little boats in the harbour. The waves and swells were huge and by the time they made their way into this small bay they were going in every direction, bouncing off all the shallows and stone walls. It seems to have been quite a noteworthy storm because locals also were stopping in their cars to watch the water and take pictures.

Benefit of a rainy, home day for me......time to do a little journaling. My little clay figures from Selmun.

Along the walk in front of our apartment is this fish eye mirror for cars to see as three roads converge. There are stop signs but nobody pays them any heed. We have seen a few close calls....but it's just how they drive. I'm not sure how much of a traffic safety sign this is but it sure is a favourite for walkers to stop and take selfies. This fellow was walking along with a broken umbrella which he just dumped in the garbage can. Then he stopped, adjusted his bright yellow hoody and took a selfie. I was a bit too late to catch him in action but he is now checking the picture on his cel as he continues on down the street.

I have just read a post on FB about selfies and the newest items, for me anyways, selfie sticks. I hadn't ever seen one til this trip. They are now calling them "Wands of Narcissus"....I think it's a very accurate description of the whole thing....lol

These places in Malta are all made of stone. The glass doors out to our balcony are not sliding doors, nor are they double paned. They open like regular doors but on a wheel. When the wind blows from the north, like it has for almost three days, it comes in cold and the rain beating against the windows eventually fills up the tracks and then seeps in onto the floors. We have had towels along the floor to absorb the rain and reduce the cold air.

We are ready for sunshine!! According to weather channel it's coming tomorrow.

 

 

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