Perhaps I have been stalling on this blog because I still don't know what to make of my time in Malta. For those of you unfamiliar with Malta, I will fill you in. Malta is, in fact, a country. It is a small island nation in the Mediterranean that falls below Italy and just next to Africa. I vaguely knew of Malta before coming abroad, and for a month actually entertained ideas of studying there instead of in Oxford because I thought a semester on a Mediterranean island might be just what the doctor ordered. I am glad I was not led to Malta, however, because it is not particularly exciting. It is incredibly tiny and though a member of the European Union, there is not much going on there outside of the high season for tourists... which we missed by a few weeks.
Our stay in Malta was actually on a small island off of the mainland called Gozo. The main island is Valleta, which has the airport and all other modern luxuries on it. Gozo is a hotspot in the late spring and summer because it is truly a vacation island. It is made up of restaurant, scuba diving spots, and gorgeous views, but very little else. We found an apartment on Gozo for just about $10 per girl and imagined days of sunbathing and playing in the Mediterranean, as we had checked the weather averages and it should have been in the lower 70s at that time but... we were wrong. Haha, we are certainly living and learning with each adventure.
So, we took a 3 am bus in Barcelona to get to the airport and arrived on Malta around 9 am. We were exhausted! After the long commute involving two taxis and a ferry (and some gorgeous views) we were taken to our apartment by the lovely landlady, Grace. She was very kind and accommodating and since we were the ONLY tenants she had at the time, she wanted to do all that she could to help us. She directed us to the grocery store, warning that it would close soon, and left us in our strange apartment with limestone walls and a distinct wet smell. The humidity was stifling!
We began our walk to the grocery and were able to appreciate our surroundings. Just 100 feet from our apartment was the crystal clear Mediterranean Sea and the streets of the island were also lovely. It made me think of the pictures I have seen of Greece. The grocery store was tiny and clearly full of locals who were amazed to see tourists at this time of the year. We got some staple items and then settled down for a nap despite the sunshine outside. I figured all the days would be sunny and that I could enjoy it the next day after I had rested up.
Alas, I was wrong again. We woke up to a cloudy day! Despite this, we did some exploring around our harbour. Here are a few pictures:
That night, we ate dinner at a strange little restaurant. I should tell you that the people of Malta, the Maltese, if you will, speak some crazy language (Maltese) similar to Arabic, and some are really not good at English, despite it being a national language due to the fact that Malta used to be owned/controlled by Britain. Anyway, the owner of the restaurant was a little rough at English but managed to coerce us into the lamb special. We then shared what appeared to be an entire lamb (I'm sorry, baby lamb!) for dinner as a typical Maltese feast. It was good, but added to our feelings of being strangely stranded on this bizarre island surrounded by people speaking in a language that uses very little vowels and lots of shouting.
The next few days consisted of lots of meandering around the island beneath the clouds, reading, and serious napping. We also watched a LOT of Italian MTV and enjoyed trying to figure out what was happening.
Finally, on my final day on Malta, we were blessed with GORGEOUS weather and a desire to explore. A nearby village holds ancient ruins and the legendary cave of Calypso, so we decided to take the bus and see some sights before my departure.
The first photo is the name of the temples, which none of us can pronounce. These temples are the OLDEST free standing structure in the WORLD! And to think, they are right there on Gozo in Malta. There were a lot of tourists visiting the temples, mostly from Germany for some reason. They are fascinating, complete with alters and other spots for worship. The people worshiped goddesses here and nature.
Next, we took a long, sweat trek through the village to the coast to see Calypso's cave. Here are a few pictures of the streets:
When we finally arrived at the cave, it had been worth the journey. It held some mystique as it is tied to the myth of the Odyssey - Ulysses was supposedly kept here after he was seduced by Calypso - and gorgeous views. Here are a few:
After a morning of adventuring and making peace with the island by finally being able to appreciate it's many attributes, I had to make the journey to the airport. I took four buses and a ferry to do so, as well as many hours of seeing the island. Though four hours in transit would usually be annoying, I truly enjoyed a chance to see more of Malta! I was squeezed on a few of the buses, it was a very cultural experience because when it seemed that not one more body could fit on the bus, we were forced to squeeze in ten more! I was able to take some gorgeous pictures of the lovely day, and I met a hilarious Spanish man to pass the time with. Here are a few samples:
From Malta, I took a flight that arrived in London at midnight, and waited two hours for a bus back to Oxford, where I slept for four hours, repacked, and took another bus to the other airport to spend a week back in America! It was good to refuel and to stock up on some food to bring back for the Easter holiday. More to come on that!
oh suuz, your travel experiences delight me and I was laughing throughout this entire post!
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