Jim & Happy : Malta

Malta

First impression - hot & sticky

Second impression - relaxed and rustic

Our apartment is in a residential street in St Julian’s. It is a 10-minute walk down the end of our street to Spinola Bay. The bay continues in both directions, right to Sliema and St Georges Bay to the left. The bays are rocky outcrops. The water is a beautiful blue colour and very clear. The bays are ideal for swimming and lying on the rocks – beats sand in your swimmers. There are ladders off the rocks directly into the sea. It is idyllic. Laurel and I joined the locals for a swim on Sunday afternoon and sat on the rocks in the late afternoon sun.

We have been having our morning coffee at ‘Tony’s Bar’ before we hit the sights. It is a local’s hangout. Aside from the cigarette smoke (which is everywhere throughout Europe) it is an interesting place to sit and the coffee is good - Tony’s appears to be an institution.

On Sunday we took the ‘Hop on hop off’ bus tour – our favourite touristy thing to do. We took the south island tour, which is more rural countryside. We are staying in the north part of the island, which is more of a tourist destination with beaches and shops.

Malta is a small island. It only takes 1.5 hours (without traffic) to drive across the island. The locals are friendly and English is their second language so getting around is very easy.

The countryside is a monotone colour of yellow due to all the buildings being built out of the local limestone. I like the idea of a house made out of limestone, great insulation (the locals say) – cool in summer & warm in winter. There is a layer of dust on everything cars, windows etc. Apparently it is blown in from the interior according to the shop assistant I asked. She actually said desert??????

We have been using the local buses to get around. They run every half hour and a day ticket is only 2.60Euros ($3.90 approx) great value.

Today we went on a harbour cruise. Seeing the various creeks (as they are called) off the harbour. It was good fun. Jim especially liked it as there was a bit of a swell. Hopefully it drops by tomorrow because we are going on a boat to Comino Island/Blue Lagoon for a day of swimming and snorkeling.