Episode 7

Well, would you believe it, in a burst of enthusiasm rarely seen, L suddenly up and booked a trip to Malta one Saturday. We would be leaving on Tuesday, and coming back late for following Tuesday.

L had no sooner announced what she'd done than David announced that he thinks he is getting another bout of 'cellulitis' in his right foot. He wasn't wrong either. On Monday morning he set off for the doctor and got some antibiotics for the foot which by this time he could barely put to the ground. He even arranged with Dawn to pick him up from the lock-up at Ford where we would be leaving the car, and take him to Ford railway station because he would not be able to walk the 700m or so. Anyway, everything was packed up and off we set around lunch time on our departure day. We caught the train, the one we were actually booked on, though many had been cancelled that day so we found out. Once we arrived at Gatwick with David barely able to hobble around the girl at the check-in counter arranged for some assistance for him. A person with a wheel chair came to where we were waiting and we were all ushered through the special security section for the disabled then parked in a special area in departures. L went off and got us a nice cup of tea that we all felt in need of, even me, then about an hour before our flight we were whisked off to the departure gate on one of those electric cart things we all see at airports. Sadly we had evening flights in both directions, one of the disadvantages of the cheap package L had booked. Although we left England just before dark it was around 10pm when we landed in Malta after a nearly 3 hour flight. Fairly quickly we found our transport to our hotel and although it was quite a way from the airport we were soon ensconced in our quarters for the next week. David was mightily relieved to arrive as his foot was really paining him. Our first day we all took nice and easy. David's leg was still bad, no sign of improvement there so L took advantage of the lovely bright sunny weather, a change to the UK, and the swimming pool and enjoyed a swim. Her and I also went for a walk along an old Roman road that passed not far from our hotel. We came to an old carob tree that the sign says in about 1000 years old. Later, L read in some other literature that it's supposedly about 1500 years old, I think we will just settle for saying that it's old. It has a girth of over 7m and spreads it branches over quite a wide area. Beside it is an old beehive built into a terrace embankment, this beehive is probably from the middle ages, but there is an older Roman one very nearby, that is around 1800 years old. Neither are still in use. Malta was once famous for it's honey and there is some speculation that the island's name is actually derived from the latin word for honey that L thinks is 'med'. It's the Russian word anyway, not that that has anything to do with anything really. Just another useless bit of trivia. On our wonderings L and I found that the island is quite dry and extremely stoney. It is actually limestone, The fences dividing the tiny fields from each other are all made of stone, and very well built too. Many of the houses are built of stone, especially the older ones, now they seem to use concrete block. In this area where we walked we didn't see any crops growing only a few more carob trees, plenty of some sort of throne scrub, and a vast amount of prickly pear mostly loaded with ripening fruit. Not an animal to be seen, but then there wasn't much for any animal to eat. Even though David hadn't been able to get out and about L and I had enjoyed our day. Next day with D's leg not quite so bad it was decided that we would take the hop-on hop-off bus that we could book at our hotel. We could catch it just a short walk away. This seemed the best option for seeing some of the sights without D having to do too much walking. So, with shorts, light shirts and sun hats on we all set out. No, I don't have a sunhat, I would just have to suffer heat exhaustion. It was pleasantly warm. The bus we caught near the hotel was really only a shuttle bus, it took us to the main departure point in Selima, just across the harbour from Valletta, the Island's capital. Our trip into Selima had taken us well over an hour and we'd driven along the north coast of the island past massive enclaves of tourist hotels with many more under construction. Here we hopped on our bus for the tour to the middle part of the island. One thing my lot very quickly decided is that we weren't going anywhere quickly, there is just too much traffic on the mostly very narrow streets, and the island is mostly towns and villages, there is not much countryside. There is however a vast amount of history. Our first stop was to visit the aviation museum. It had started as a private collection and is now run by a bunch of enthusiasts. There are a number of old planes that were used on the islands during WW11, they have been restored and can actually be flown again. Numerous other planes are either awaiting restoration of currently being worked on. Along with the planes were a couple of old motorbikes and i really enjoyed them. Our next stop was once the capital of Malta, Mdina, I stands high on a hill top that drops of vertically on three sides. A high fortified wall enclosed the city with a moat on the fourth side separating it from the town of Rabat that sits outside the city walls. Mdina overlooks a good deal of the island. Founded in the 8th century BC by the Phoenicians it was capital until 1530 when the Knights of the order of St John (crusader knights) moved the capital to Birgu. Valletta is now the capital. The old city is now home to only a few hundred people and thousands of visitors at any one time or so it would seem. L had read that there weren't any cars but it seems that those who live within the walls can drive their cars wherever the streets are wide enough and they all seem to be doing so the day we visited. Many of the streets aren't really wide enough for a pedestrian and car, so the poor tourist has to squeeze into some tiny doorway while the car passes. With the size of some modern tourists that's no mean feat. Some of the very narrow streets were only wide enough for two people to pass. We tried to look into the church but it appeared to be crammed to overflowing with thousands of tourists from a cruise ship or perhaps two cruise ships, there was always at least one in port at Valletta. We enjoyed a wander around the narrow streets despite the tourist hoards and sat at the top of the wall enjoying a view over quite a large expanse of the island. There are several shops selling glass ware that is produced locally. L says she has never heard of Maltese glass but she found it quite lovely. Pity it was so heavy to carry. My lot enjoyed lunch in one of the local cafes that had home made pies and quiches on offer. L had a pie that was supposed to be tuna and spinach however, she claims not to have come across either tuna or spinach though she did say it was quite tasty. D, likewise could not actually identify what was in his, but he enjoyed it and seems to have survived OK. Across the moat is the town of Rabat, from the Arab word meaning suburb because it was where those that couldn't live in the city lived during Byzantine times. Here we went and visited the few mosaics that are all that is left of what was once a Roman villa. Only one was in reasonable condition. Around this area had once been a Roman settlement with the villa probably being the main residence. By the time we had done all this David's foot was again giving problems so we caught the next hop-on bus. We passed through the town of Mosta where there is a church with the 3rd largest unsupported dome in the world. The two largest are St Peters in Rome and St Sophia's in Istanbul. St Sophia's has some other name now because it has been converted into a mosque. More on this church in another episode. Further along the way we came to Golden Beach or Bay. It was a fairly warm day and as expected the place was very popular with a vast number of tourists and probably some locals as well. It has a strip of quite nice golden sandy beach and looked great with the deep blue of the mediterranean as background. We stayed on board as David's foot was very swollen again, and as the bus passed not far from our hotel and it was late in the afternoon we hopped off at a convenient spot and made our way to the hotel. © Lynette Regan 23rd October 2017