Put the Camera Down!

Day 32: Malta

We pulled into Valletta, Malta around 8:00 am, and I mean, we really pulled right up into Malta. I looked out my cabin window and all I could see were walls and limestone buildings climbing up a hill. No sky, no water. That’s how close we were. I have to say, that first glimpse of this tiny country had me excited to see more.

The Maltese Islands are a small archipelago of five islands. Malta is the largest and is only 9 miles by 17 miles in length. It contains a number of forts and has a long military history dating back to the Crusades. There are a bunch of little towns on the island even though sometimes you can’t tell when you leave one and enter another. They use just about every inch of ground: if there’s not a building on it, they are growing something on it. We saw plenty of vineyards and Malta does have its own wines.

The ship excursion we took started with a trip to a local fishing village called Marsaxlokk. What a beautiful little town. The colorful boats all have the eye of Isis on the front, to ward off evil, or bring good luck, or something I can’t remember what exactly. There were a number of fishermen working on their boats, as well as some vendors selling food and goods along the pier.

Next we went to the 3 cities area. Here we walked from one town to the next across a harbor bridge. We learned about the great sieges Malta has endured, but never succumbed to. The most recent of these was the beating it took in WWII from the Italians. Malta was the most bombed place in Europe during the war, being only 60 miles from Sicily and a base of operations for the allies. Even though it was a prime target, it never fell and the whole country received the King George Cross Medal of Valor. That cross is depicted on their country’s flag today.

The final part of our excursion was a ride in a traditional Maltese “Dghajsa” (boat) through the harbor. It was great way to see the city from a different vantage point.

Once again, our favorite thing we did today was something we did on our own with Bob and Lauren. After getting dropped off back at the port, we climbed the hill to the bus terminal and took a local bus to Mdina (Medina). Mdina is the old capital city of Malta. It’s a medieval town surrounded by a wall and a dry moat, and only residents are allowed to drive their cars in the town, so it is very pedestrian. You can, however, rent a horse and carriage to carry you around if you prefer not to walk.

Mdina is famous for a few things: the Cathedral of St. Paul, its beautiful winding medieval streets, and the Knights of St. John. But the thing that seems to make an impression on most people is that it was also used in the TV series Game of Thrones. I’m not exactly sure of the scenes, but looking around the town I would say when Cersei (sp?) made her memorable walk through town naked after being released from prison is one of them. Recognize any of these alleyways?

We stopped at a café and ordered a couple of local wines (one white, one red) and then ordered 4 different items to share. We got a bruschetta with mozzarella cheese, a pepper cheese with beans and crackers, an open-faced chicken and mozzarella sandwich that was a lot like a pizza with a really thick crust, and a pesto penne pasta. It was the perfect lunch.

We wandered around the town a bit more before taking a cab back to the boat for a 5:30 all-aboard time after which I went up top to take some pictures of the sail-away. Malta is so picturesque, at one point I finally had to tell myself to just put the camera down!