Malta airport is everything that you would want out of a welcoming. They provide you with Maltese treats, bottles of cold water, and air conditioning to cool off the outside heat.
We made it out through the arrivals gate and then on to find the rental car place. After we had circumnavigated the whole airport, we found the little Budget Booth. Our lady was the sweetest person in the world (not usual of rental companies). To find our car was a mission. Every single car on the island was a small, white hatchback.
The sun was beaming down, we could feel our vitamin D tanks refilling very quickly.
Off to find some mermaids. The roads were turbulent, up and down, left and right. We were coming around the bend of a large cliff when we first saw the ocean peaking out. It took our breaths away; the sun was sprinkling glitter on the deep blue waves that were gliding into shore. The horizon seemed to curve as there was so much to see. It felt comforting to know that we had so much space, so much fresh air to breath.
In Malta, there is a myth that mermaids used to live in a place called the
Blue Grotto. It is not hard to imagine when you reach the water. We drove down and down the steep road, into a car park. The car park warden was a friendly local in a captain's hat. 'Just give me what you want when you leave' he called to us. We walked even further down the road until we met the water. The boats shimmied when people were jumping in, making a splash. One tour boat led you into the caves to see the grotto. It was definitely time for an ice block (ice lolly), not that it cooled us down much in the heat. As we left the car park, we gave the man €1. We aren't sure if it really was his job or if he has just decided that it was going to be his income. One thing we may never know.
Just down the road are the Ħaġar Qim & Mnajdra Temples. There is one up the top of the hill and one closer to the water. There is no wonder they made their homes of worship in this place. The view is enough to keep people visiting 7500 years later. The orange of the stone matched perfectly with the exceptionally blue sky. The structure of the rooms blew us away. They have the stones laid out so that the stream of light from the summer and winter solstice shine in different places. You could see exactly what the rooms were used for, even picture what they would have been doing. The temples are similar to Stonehenge (Megalithic), the stones stay standing based on the sheer weight of them. There were some stones that were so tall and wide, it would have taken a whole army to move them. Even when they used tree logs to roll them.
The sun was high in the sky, yet my eyelids were dropping. Time for us to check in. Again we used Airbnb to find ourselves a home for the few days. We ended up in the loveliest part of the island
- Mellieha. It is at the highest point, close to the ferry terminals to get to the other islands. It has a fantastic view of the ocean and the St Paul's bay below. All the houses are similar colours and seem to be placed in organised chaos! I absolutely loved the amount of solar panels that were on the roofs. With the amount of sun Malta gets, there will be no shortage of power. Naturally, we got a penthouse suite in an apartment, ll for an very reasonable price; even by our money saving standards!
We met our host and paid him the €1.50 extra as tax. In Malta, if you stay somewhere, you have to pay 50c a night to your host. It has been a law there for a very long time!
It was definitely time for a dip in the large pool we call the Mediterranean Sea! We walked the paths of bougainvilleas and spotted as many kittens that we could find. Down by the water were locals having their food and some beers in the sun. This part of the island only has rocks to jump off, no sand. Wanting to find a spot to ourselves, we continued down the beach. What we found was an old WW2 bunker that has made its way half under the water. The water was crystal clear and shouting at us to jump in. We obliged!
All the swimming had made us hungry, so back up to the house and to the supermarket. Our market was called 'Valyou', what a treat it was. They seem very organised in their supermarkets, you go to a dedicated fruit and vegetable measurer to make sure you pay the exact price, the deli people are very friendly, and there are sweet biscuits galore. The one thing that was upsetting was the ridiculous overuse of plastic - on everything. We got things we knew and other foods that we had no clue, always fun!
The rest of the evening was laying in the sun till she went to sleep, and eating a smorgasbord of olives and salty snacks. When the sun has gone, the sky turned a dusky orange, then a dark, midnight blue. It was time for an early sleep to be ready for what the next day would bring.
Labels: Malta 2017
