It's Saturday, where shall we go?

Most evenings we look at the map and say 'where do we want to go tomorrow'? If we don't have a clear idea or we're not sure of the weather we will often wait til the morning to decide. There are few places we haven't been to on this part of the island and many we have been two or three times. It's now becoming a choice of where we want to go back to. These places include Gozo and some of the coastal villages in the north and west of the island as we probably will not come back this far once we are in Marsascala.

Plan 'A' today was Golden Bay to sit in the sun. We took the bus to the Mellieha diversion where we would catch the #223. It only runs once an hour so we had about 40 minutes to wait. Luckily it was in the sun. When it did come it went right by because it was one of the small buses and it was full. So as easy as that we moved on to Plan 'B', Mellieha beach.

Like so many of these coastal towns, Mellieha sits on top of the headland between the bay's of St Paul and Ghadira (Mellieha). Everything is up and down and hairpin turns. You would think fuel was cheap here the way the buses are driven. Instead of slowing down as they approach a bus stop it's more a hit the gas then slam on the brakes. And everybody standing goes flying. It's not often that we have to stand but when we do its quite an experience. More exercise for the muscles having to brace and hang on.

The wonderful thing about all this is that nobody seems to mind, even the people at the back that have to make their way to the front to get off. No back doors on these buses. There's two shelves at the front for luggage, backpacks or shopping, room for strollers, a wheelchair and two rows for people with small children or mobility issues. When the bus gets full most of the standing passengers hug the front. Some drivers make them move back. Others, like our's today, had us and seven other passengers in front of the 'yellow line'. Like I've said many times, there are rules here but Malta exists without following many of them.

We walked down the hill of main street and waited for another bus to go down to the beach. As we waited I noticed an elderly man sitting in the bus shelter across the street waiting to go in the other direction. I could see he was sketching while he waited. Knowing we had 10 minutes until our bus came I crossed the street and asked if I could see what he was drawing. It was a charcoal pencil sketch of the buildings on the street. I showed him my journal and he asked to see my palette. He was English and also worked with water colours. He showed me his travel palette and I knew he had been doing this for a long time. He thanked me for coming to talk to him and wished me happy painting and travels. Our bus came first but before we left I took a picture of him.

 

The wind was getting stronger but it wasn't cold. We found a picnic table that was a little bit sheltered and spent an hour, me painting, Bob listening to Charlie Musselwhite and enjoying the scenery. There was one brave woman swimming.

The day didn't turn out as first planned, but we always find someplace that is new, interesting and suits our needs for the day.

We spent a quiet afternoon watching three "jet" boats race up and down the bay. Weekend energy and entertainment.

 

 

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Mosta Shopping

Went to Mosta to walk the shopping street. We got off as soon as the bus went through the 'diversion' or as we call it, the roundabout. The first stop off the bus is a hobby and art store. I just can't pass it by but cannot justify buying any more supplies. One exception is a couple of Faber Castell black pens. All their paint supplies were a brand I'd never heard of.....PeBeo from France.

This is a typical furniture department store. These aren't pictures but huge glass windows displaying furnishings for every room, advertised to 'fill your apartment' for less than €8000....monthly payments over 5 years. All the same no matter what country you're in.

We zig zagged back and forth across the Main Street as shops caught our attention. One more art store but nobody seems to carry Moleskine journals and that's the only thing I might need before we go home. There was a big 50% off sale in a clothing store where we just had to buy a couple more scarves. When we reached the Mosta Dome we took the bus back up to where we started and did some shopping in an Italian grocery store. Everything was fresh.

Our shop turned into a yummy tortellini pasta dish with pesto sauce.

We did have plans to just drop off the groceries and go to Golden Bay, but better sense prevailed. We walked over to Piscopo's to finish our shopping needs for the week, came back, filled up the wine flask and spent an hour in the sun on our bench. I'm feeling like I'm getting 'the' cold so after dinner there was no reason to stay up and I was in bed before 8:00pm. Friday night, the same here as it is in Union Bay:)

 

 

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We Spend Our Day in Our Neighbourhood

I know when my body and my mind needs a day of rest. I was feeling overwhelmed by all I wanted to record from our day on Gozo but was too tired last night to do anything. So today we didn't rush to go anywhere. Mid morning we took the bus into Bugibba and then walked back along the seafront looking at shops. Bob found a scarf that he liked, a nice black and grey pattern. I bought a bracelet with the Maltese Cross in stainless steel on a black band and an Osiris Eye pendant to wear on a black neck cord. I didn't do much shopping for the first few weeks we were here but I am knocking off my wish list pretty quickly now.

I went to the cash machine at the HSBC in Bugibba Square and then we sat on a bench in the sun. We had lattes and some cake at the Bayside Cafe, enjoying the sea view, relaxing, until a couple came and sat right beside us and then proceeded to talk on their cell phone. Grrrr.....it's hard to enjoy yourself when all you can hear is someone else's conversation.

Next stop was on the breakwater that we look out on from our apartment. There were a few people fishing at the end. I was not feeling inspired to sketch looking back towards the row of apartments. I saw one man sitting on a pail fishing so did a quick drawing then a splash of paint. He seemed approachable so I showed it to him. He was tickled. He laughed and commented that he didn't realize that someone would be watching him, let alone painting him. I told him he was my fisherman for the day and his picture in my journal would go home with me to Canada.

On our walk back I climbed the 23 steps up to the road then did the 30 stairs up to our apartment. My legs were burning but it's a good feeling. We are both happy to be feeling stronger and walking more every day.

I caught up with my journal, did a couple of sketches, had showers, did a load of laundry and had a simple but tasty dinner of pork chops and oven cooked veggies and it's only 7:00pm This is a glass bottom tour boat that we have seen pull into St Paul's Bay for the second time during our stay. We never see it take on passengers so not quite sure what it's doing here. Just another interesting thing to see in "our" bay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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To Gozo (Ghawdex) Again

Our morning sky with our coffee before we make an early start.

The weeks keep marching by and we still want to spend more time on Gozo. Malta is wonderful but Gozo maintains the enchantment of a small village lifestyle. Despite the fact that many tourists, ourselves included, travel to see the beautiful coastal towns, at this time of year it is relatively quiet. We had four places on our agenda today.....Zebbug, Dwejra, Ta Cenc and maybe back to Nadur for the Wednesday market. When the ferry docks in Mgarr all buses go to Victoria and then you decide which way to go from there. A look at all the schedules and the first bus leaving is to Nadur.

Gozitans are very friendly and always ready to help with directions. We followed a lady that was going to the market. The bus driver had said it was about a ten minute walk. As are markets everywhere, for us there was nothing we needed or wanted except a mid morning snack. We just enjoyed the local energy and bought two mini fruit flans to eat somewhere with maybe a cappuccino??

 

The last time we were here the church wasn't open. Today a door was open and as we peeked inside two women told us to come in and look around. They were volunteers and were cleaning the huge chandeliers that hung from the domed ceilings. Every church is beautiful but some are exquisite and this was one of them. I have never seen so many domes inside one church. Four or five men had a scaffold on wheels and they used pulleys to bring down the chandelier. The ladies washed every light and piece of crystal. They do this twice a year. Then they are covered in cloth and raised back up until June when they will be unwrapped to celebrate the Feast of St Peter and St Paul. As with women everywhere there is always time for a chat. While Bob took pictures they told me a bit about the history of the church and their community. This church is over 400 years old. These beautiful churches, in every village and town, will most likely be the last ones to be built on these islands. She said there is no longer the money nor the skills today to create churches of this grandeur.

 

She also told us Nadur has one of the best "Carnival" celebrations in Malta. It is the same as that celebrated in Catholic countries around the world. The most famous being in New Orleans and Rio DeJaneiro. People from Malta come to Nadur for the 3/4 day festival over the 14th of February. She wished she could have invited us to stay at her home but she said all her kids come and bring their friends. If it was summer it would be okay because they could all sleep outside but this is winter and everybody needs a warm bed. The warmth of Gozitans.

When we came out of the church the market was closing down and only a few tables were still set up.

A bus was there so we got on quickly to return to Victoria and get the next bus out to Dwejra. The neighbouring town is San Lawrenz and Dwejra is really a very small tourist bay on the west coast whose claim to fame is 'the Azure Window'. Local guides in their Luzzus take you for a 15/20 minute cruise through the gap in the rock to the outside water. There are caverns and holes in the rock, orange coral and as advertised azure coloured water. It was pointed out by the boatman the face in the rock and the collection of rocks up on the cliff that looks like an alligator. For €4 I was, like a small child, excited by my mini adventure. I have now cruised the Mediterranean.

 

There is always only rock. Remnants from ancient seabeds sit petrified on what looks like sand. I see sand dollars and shells that look like you could pick them up, but they are immovable parts of the 'beach'.

Sometimes when we think we are lucky to catch a bus without a long wait it turns out to be not such a bonus. As we left Dwejra back to Victoria for the second time today our driver told us to stay on his bus as he would be going to Mgarr, where the ferry docks. I think he wanted to keep us on the bus so he could tell Bob he knew about Cabelas (from Bobs Tshirt). Turns out to be the school bus route and we are inundated with school kids. They are very loud but fun to watch and listen too. There seems to be an innocence and open commraderie between all ages of Maltese kids. I can't compare with our kids because we never travel like this with them. But through observation it is hard to imagine bullying....there is so much laughter and face to face interaction. Another around the world bus trip that gets us to the ferry just 'after' the ferry leaves the dock. We have 45 minutes to kill so we walk around the harbour dock. There is an AFM (Armed Forces Malta) high speed pontoon boat with two - 250 horsepower outboard motors and a SAR boat against the dock. Marine coast similarities with any country.

And like all of us, we crave the warmth of the sun especially in winter. These young people may have been waiting for the ferry too. I know I couldn't lay on cement in any comfort anymore but appreciate the ability of those that can.

 

We are happy to sit by the window with a little refreshment after a busy day. On this our third trip to Gozo we don't feel the need to be outside looking at the sights. Kind of like traveling our BC Ferries. One more bus and our seven block walk and we are home. Another good day. If I was ever to come back to Malta I would want to stay on Gozo.

 

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Golden Bay and St. Agatha's, aka The Red Tower

The days are getting warmer. Today there is no wind as we set out to Golden Bay again. Mosta Road is such a busy street. It is a shopping and business center for locals with a few tourists thrown in. It is where we do our shopping, catch our bus and get off the bus for the 6/7 block walk home. Pastizzerias are in every street in every town and village. For less than a €1 you can get a huge slice of pizza, a sausage roll or a pastizzi which is usually flakey pastry around ricotta cheese or mashed potatoes and mushy peas( British leftover) yuk! €1.8 will buy you a lasagna or tortellini big enough for two people easy. It's a great stop gap meal but after a few times you say ...That's enough....it is their fast food equivalent.

Our typical blue 'King Long' bus stopping at our stop when we come home.

 

Shadows of Bob and Karen waiting for the bus to Golden Bay in the morning sunshine. I think it is hard for people reading my blog to understand how much this country runs on buses. Despite the fact that a lot of the passengers are tourists or expats without cars, a lot of Maltese use them too. When we set out for a day to somewhere we may up being on 5/6, maybe even 7 buses before we get home. Today we ended up on a bus that took a bypass road past Mellieha where we were going. We ended up almost at Cirkewwa and the Gozo ferry before we could get off. So we crossed the street and waited for the next bus back. Even as you sit on a rock wall and wait, the scenery is fantastic to look at when you are rural and the people watching is great when you are in more urban centres.

When we were on the beach in Golden Bay last week we could see people high up on the cliffs, so this is where we went today. There was nobody around at the time so we sat on the steps going down to the beach and I sketched and Bob just enjoyed the view. I just wish I would slow down and make sure my spelling was accurate in my journal.

I'm running out of words to describe this place. We don't always get very far and sometimes we spend a lot of time on buses, but it's all about our journies not always the destinations.

 

 

 

Along this headland was a walking trail planted with olive trees that had been developed to record some of the most famous figures in history that fought and died for peace. From Nelson Mandala, Ghandi, the Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King, to the Kennedys, a few Popes, and even John Lennon and Bob Marley. It was a very peaceful walk reading all the biographies of these historic personalities with the added bonus of the information on the growing, production and nutritional value of the olive fruit. Nobody but us did this walk. We spent probably an hour wandering through this small olive grove situated on the side of the cliff overlooking Golden Bay.

It took a couple of buses back and forth and a steep uphill climb to get to St. Agatha's or The Red Tower. Another 16th century fortress built as a defensive position manned by the Knights of St John against invading forces. There are so many of these towers all over Malta, some larger than others. This one is unique because of the colour of the stone which was painted red and maintained during restoration.

This tower certainly marred the view but I had to take a picture because it is the only one I've seen on Malta.

Stone walls again, everywhere...no cement filler just smaller rocks to fill in the cracks and crannies.

We ended the day in Xemxija, pronounced Shemshia, where we finally had some lunch, and a bathroom break. There was a produce truck parked across the road where we picked up what we needed for dinner. We got home by 4:00 and put together an oven dinner of chicken cooked with a recipe Bob found in the Malta Times. It was delicious and again we have leftovers. I love left overs because it means I don't have to think about dinner tomorrow as we are going to Gozo again and don't plan to be back much before dark.

 

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Mdina and Rabat

I think the two to three week 'winter' cold spell is over. The days, even though they may be windy, are definitely warmer and the rain seems to be out of the weather picture. After almost six weeks here there are not many places we haven't seen. There are still places I need to see again, like Mdina, for the third time. We have an early start and are rewarded with quiet streets in the walled city. I don't think I would ever get tired of walking these narrow silent alleyways. It's hard to imagine that people actually live in this silent city.

 

 

 

 

In the front page of my first Malta journal I tried to capture what I thought would be the turquoise of the Mediterranean Sea. The colour that stands out now after our time here is Ochre with so many shades and variations brought about by age, restoration and weather. In journal number two I tried to capture for my first page this wall that is so representative of Maltas ancient structures.

I have two items on my shopping list that are specific to Malta. One is an Osiris eye that is painted on all the Maltese fishing boats for good luck. I want to wear it on a neck cord. The other item is a handmade sweater. Today I found my sweater in Mdina in a little shop where the sweaters are knit from hand spun wool by 'the ladies'. I'm not sure where the 'ladies' are working but the oldest representative was sitting in the back of the shop. At 90 years of age she doesn't knit anymore but she was quite sure that I should have the cardigan over the pullover. So that is what I bought. Too bad I have to always make spelling mistakes in my journal. At least when I'm blogging I have spell check.

And today's winning numbers are......I should look into whether non residents can buy tickets. That's about a half a million Canadian dollars.

We left the walled city and crossed the street into Rabat. We were looking for lunch but a huge black cloud threatened so we quickly had cappuccinos and a tart and kept walking through town. On a quiet street we met two young women, one Venezuelan, the other Lithuanian but both from London on a quick one week visit. They were still pulling their suitcases having a quick look down some of the unique streets before meeting their flat renter. They are staying in Mdina for their six days. We have yet to meet anyone from Canada or the U.S.

Not quite ready to head for home, but tired of walking, we take the bus that does a circle route to Mtarfa. About a half hour ride and we are back at the Rabat bus exchange where we get the X3 to home. It is a fairly normal outing for us time-wise unless we have a big day planned. Out by 9:30 and home about 3:00/3:30. Time to relax a bit before dinner. Leftovers from last nights roast pork. Easy peasy:)

 

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Shopping and Laundry

Sunday is a unique day. It is filled with energy. Not ours today, but the Maltese people are out in force. Fancy, high performance cars and crotch rocket bikes race around. It is a day for the Sunday lunch and a walk with family and friends.

It is our day to catch up and do our grocery shopping. As we walk the streets to Piscopo's Cash and Carry market you can hear radios playing and peoples conversations. It is so different from the quiet of a week day. It is winter here and people enjoy the warmth of the sun as we do in the first warm days of spring at home. The serious walkers are striding along the promenade and the social walkers stop to sit and enjoy the heat and the view and often a smoke too. So many smokers still.

We made two trips to the Mosta Road shops today. Depending on what we have on our grocery list the load can be pretty heavy to carry on our backs. We did the basics and the meat shop this morning and then went back for vegetables and bread this afternoon. This should be our last big shop before we move to Marsascala in a little over two weeks.

It has been another windy day but the sun is warm this afternoon. So after we put the groceries away we fill our wine cup and my wine skin and go sit in the sun on a bench in front of our apartment. It is times like this that are how I had envisioned our being in Malta.

We have a fresh pork roast and vegetables in the oven as the sun sets on a lovely Sunday afternoon, Maltese style. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with happiness and gratitude that I am here experiencing this unique and beautiful country.

I have no pictures and so far no sketches for today. It has been a day of rest from travel.

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