Second week in Malta

 Monday 22^nd April: It is dull today but the weather changes so quickly on this small island.  I go out in layers, discarding clothing as we make our way to the village going up and down the hilly paths as it’s not flat here.  Mellieha is the largest bay in Malta and shelves gently into the safe bays and coves for swimming - you can parascend from the water harnessed into a multi-coloured parachute but the waves are not big enough to surf. overlooking the bay. It’s also where our favourite bar is….the Maya Beach Bar.  There are only 11 beaches on the Island (beaches implying sand!), 7 on the main Island, 2 on Gozo and surprisingly enough 2 on the tiny Island of Comino where we intend to go this week.   The village is perched high overlooking  Mellieha Bay itself and the views from the end of the ‘high street’ are amazing Mellieha church stands high overlooking the sea and once through the Church courtyard (one of my favourite places) is a panoramic view of Ghadira Bay which also has a café nearby and our favourite bar called Mayo Beach.

Lazy day today…doing the laundry and walking  (which we do everyday).  ‘Villa Vegas’ is a 3 or 5 bed duplex apartment….we are in the small 2 bed apartment so easy to keep clean…….I do my ‘housework’ while John is taking a shower…..that’s sweeping the courtyard as well!!  HA! (see a photo of John in our courtyard).
 

Tuesday:  Cloudy but warm…..went into town with Marisa who wanted me to do a small arrangement for her table. We both gel as people, as she has to be doing something with her time 24/7 like me.  We had a chat and coffee and went down to our apartment to see the TV man who has come today will give us channels in English. BBC Entertainment , Movies 4 Men/film channels and also Discovery Science /National Geographic  not forgetting the numerous News channels but I bought my DAB radio with me which also plays CD’s….so I have music!

Wednesday: John is heavily into a book…so I took a walk into the village to have a browse.  Bought some flip flops, some paper /pens (as am making a card for Hans who has invited us to his party on Saturday, he will be 71 but loves to party).  Came home around 1pm, when the shops close, found John having his siesta! Days are lazy here but we tend to plan each day where we want to visit/re-visit coinciding with the weather.

Thursday :  It is hot today and we went to the smallest island Comino (named after the cumin seed that grows there). There are loads of vegetation but very little land is farmed  (don’t know why as there is water)…..but  that is not how it used to be, the Knights Templar used it as a meat store keeping Hares and Boar and if you were caught poaching you were sentenced to 3 years as a galley slave.  Around 27 rangers live and look after Comino, we spoke to one man whose house we walked by and  he told us you have to grow or keep chickens/goats for all his needs.  He had a small garden growing broad beans and potatoes.  The Blue Lagoon is a tourist destination …..a stretch of water that is  turquoise blue in colour and looks very inviting , it was crowded with young people jumping in off the rocks.  We went for a walk to see, the only hotel, church and hospital (which closed in 1948). It had a school attached to it but that closed in 1965 as there were no children to attend. The only Fortification was built by the Knights Templar in 1618 but is empty now but all over the island you can see remnants of the WW2. The boat ride back through the caves was stunning and once we got out into the open sea away from Comino, the boat ‘rock n rolled’ and a few of us at the back got wet from the spray…it all added to the fun  but John and I had a great day out.

Photos of Comino…the light blue waters, caves and hotel

                          

  
Photos of Mellieha Church, the café overlooking Ghadira Bay, John in our Courtyard.

         

 

Friday:  I had some sad news that my old neighbour in Bexley has died.  Geoff was 84 and lovely person.  We still visited him when we were in Bexley and of course, we will miss his funeral. 

The people next door in the 3 bed apartment left today….that means we have use of the pool which is their bit of the garden (until it gets booked again ….at the end of May).  It’s hot so we went to beach, we got the bus there and back, as at this time of the year the beaches are deserted (official summer here starts 1st June).  On the short walk back to the villa we walked past colourful gardens with their large statues of the Madonna and Jesus, (so different to our Lion statues and bird tables in UK). Also we see the water trucks outside filling pools with water after the winter months…. as the weather’s getting hotter. 

Saturday we hired a small Hylundi car for a few days so we drove to Bugibba, which is a lively town to have a look round and get some brunch in the sun.  In the afternoon we went to a bar to meet Hans for his birthday - I gave him a Driftwood photo frame that I made that morning for his present - I also made a fish for our villa…… (yes, I bought a suitcase full of Driftwood!).  In the evening we were going back to Bugibba for a big firework  display, that Josef, Marisa’s partner, was involved with….. but it was cancelled as it was too windy. They love their fireworks in Malta.

 

Sunday we got up early and drove down to a market in Rabat…that opened 8 – 12.30pm.  I bought some material as I need more to complete Nancy’s quilt…it will be a English/Maltese patchwork quilt. We then decided to drive to Dingli Bay, as it was close by.  Dingli Cliffs are only 250 metres above sea level …in fact the highest point in Malta.  We came upon a craft market with marching bands and singers.  We saw Tiles being moulded and lace makers in a row making mats - although slightly out of fashion in the UK, it is a wonderful skill….I don’t think I would remember what to do!