Bisou de partout: Malta

Monday morning (25^th May) we motored the short distance to Mgarr Harbour on Gozo and anchored just outside the breakwater in clear calm water. Robin, Pat and Erika dinghied ashore with the necessary documents to clear us into Malta and to have a quick look around – mostly to find a few groceries and hopeful a SIM card with which to reconnect ourselves to the outside world! We had been using our satellite phone for telephone calls and retrieving weather data but it’s an expensive option that we use sparingly to advise family members of our whereabouts when without regular internet.

Mgarr Harbour (pronounced Mjarr) is a funny little place with no real town – just a large ferry terminal, a few restaurants and bars, a hotel and a harbour. There is a large Cathedral complex which watches over the harbour, but not much else. Robin walked to the Customs office and completed our check in requirements – we only formally checked in as Patrick and Erika would be flying home (via Frankfurt) from Malta and so we felt it was important to show that they had arrived ‘legally’ albeit by boat! The police did not stamp our passports, merely telling us we could have them stamped just before we left! If we can get away without having our passports stamped then we might be able to extend our stay in Schengen Europe (of which Malta is a member)!

Checking the wind direction we decided to make our way down the west coast of Malta to a lovely little bay called Gnejna Bay – fascinating rock formations and calm waters made this an ideal place to spend Monday night. Pat and Erika inflated the kayaks and went exploring after we had dropped anchor and Tad and Robin took the dinghy for a look around. The sandy beach was no match for our Aussie beaches but is a rarity in Malta and apparently is packed in the summer. The water was clean and clear but no one was tempted to go in for a swim. We ate our first pork chops in many weeks that night, Robin having been able to buy some frozen ones at the supermarket in Mgarr that morning. There were some magnificent cliffs with incredible rock formations in the bay as well which were awesome to look at in the setting sun.

We had a peaceful night’s sleep, and as the wind was scheduled to change to the northwest (prevailing wind direction for Malta) and increase to 35 knots over the next couple of days, we looked for better protection. The answer was St Paul’s Bay on the northeastern coast of Malta. This is a large bay with a built up area on the south side (Bugibba) but a peaceful, sheltered bay on the northern side, near to St Paul’s Island. The latter is so-called as it is historically the place where St Paul was shipwrecked on his way to Rome after being made a prisoner. When he and his fellow shipmates crawled ashore and were rescued, a fire was lit to warm the victims and help to dry them out. As St Paul grabbed a stick to add to the fire, a poisonous snake bit him. He was unharmed (miracle?) and this led to the local people believing that he was truly divine. St Paul subsequently healed the father of the local Roman consul resulting in the baptism and conversion to Christianity of several of the local population. Unfortunately, in spite of all his good deeds, and a 3 month stay in Malta, St Paul ultimately was sent on to Rome where he was executed!

We weathered three days and two nights of fairly gusty winds in secure surroundings on our anchorage, while Pat and Erika took the local bus into Valletta on a couple of occasions for something to do, as well as pick up a much-valued SIM card so that we could have internet access. Tad and Robin were content to go ashore in Bugibba to get a few fresh groceries, postcards and a newspaper if we were lucky. We also managed a paddle around the area in our kayaks, and Tad and Pat took the dinghy ashore in the next cove (there was a sand beach) to tighten the dinghy cover we had had made in Tunisia.

By the third day we were ready to move on and headed to the capital city of Malta – Valletta. Our French friends, Yves and Nicole, with whom we had become acquainted in Port Yasmine, had let us in on a little secret. Being of a similar frame of mind to ourselves (not wanting to pay exorbitant marina fees and preferring to anchor where possible) they had told us of a place in Sliema Creek where we might pick up a mooring and have a secure place to leave our boat and go ashore for sightseeing. We found the exact place they had mentioned and managed to secure Bisou fore and aft with hefty mooring ropes – we were so pleased! No charges for spending 5 nights in the bay with great access to Sliema which is lined with cafes, restaurants, shops (including a 3-storey Carrefour supermarket with a wonderful range of groceries and homewares) and sighseeing buses! It was a little on the noisy side, with ferries, fishing boats and being right next to a slipway which was very busy! However, the nights were quiet and we slept well knowing we were secure.

The days passed quickly with two of them spent sightseeing with the hop-on-hop-off buses. Malta is not a huge island but has much to see – there are two routes that the buses take, a northern route and a southern route. Saturday was the northern route which included the ancient towns of Mdina, Rabat, and the Mosta Cathedral. The latter was quite astounding with a dome that is apparently the third largest in the world after St Peter’s Basilica in Rome and Hagia Sophia in Istanbul. What is more incredible is that a German bomb was dropped on the cathedral during WWII and it pierced the dome, fell onto the marble floor during a Mass but rolled away without detonating and without injuring anyone! The roof has now been restored and the floor repaired and there is a copy of the famous bomb in the vestry.

Mdina reminded me of Dubrovnik – all limestone buildings and streets, quite grand in some ways but not as extensive as Dubrovnik. The view from the battlements over the island was lovely as were St Paul’s Cathedral; the floors of this cathedral were unlike anything we had ever seen – multicoloured marble tombs of the nobility and clergy of Malta. Some of the names were the same as those of Maltese friends we have in Australia and the UK. We even stopped for a bite to eat at Fontanella Tea Gardens which is up on the wall and offers delicious light meals, cakes and spectacular views.

We then made our way on foot to Rabat (the ‘suburbs’ of Mdina) where we visited St Paul’s Church and Grotto as well as the catacombs. As well as the catacombs there was considerable excavation in the same area during WWII where local families paid to have a cavern excavated for them so frequent were the air raids. Some of the caverns would have had a door and some were even tiled and painted! Malta was the most heavily bombed location in Europe during WWII and according to one chart we saw, the months of January and February 1942 had an averaged of 240 raids per month!!! That would mean pretty much living below ground in the air raid shelter on a continuous basis for two months.

After a busy day’s sight-seeing we headed back to Sliema for a tasty dinner of local Maltese delights and an early night.

Sunday we took the southern route of the hop-on-hop-off bus: our first destination was the famous markets of Marsaxlokk, a lovely little fishing village on the south coast of Malta. The markets were extensive and we had a fabulous sunny day wandering and looking at the stalls as well as photographing the local colourful fishing boats.

The next stop was the Blue Grotto, a chance to get back on the water in one of the local fishing boats, converted to take passengers, and see some spectacular caves up close. Our boat’s skipper skillfully wound his way in and out of 7 caves (some of them quite small!) where we were treated to aqua blue waters and even some stalagtites. We had lunch overlooking the ocean and then hopped back on the bus to see the megalithic temples of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra. Dating to between 3600 and 3000BC these stone temples have been excavated and arranged as closely to what is believed to have been their original format as possible. Very little is known about the people who built them and why but, like Stonehenge, it is thought that they were constructed to align with movements of the sun. Some small ‘fertility’ figures were discovered among the huge stones during the excavation and these are now in the Archaelogical Museum in Valletta. The area has been nicely preserved and there is a visitor centre with 4D cinematic experience (3D plus wind and water droplets!) as well as an informative museum area.

Having criss-crossed Malta almost completely on land and by sea, we returned to Bisou planning to have one last day in Valletta to visit the city and provision the boat. Tad wanted to visit some of the chandleries in the area to stock up on a few items to have on hand, and Erika and Robin decided to do the harbour cruise, the latter being a very worthwhile trip according to the girls. A great way to see this extensive harbour city as well as an informative commentary by the captain. If you are planning on visiting Malta, do look out for the typical Maltese fishing boat tours (the name of our boat was Concetta Immaculata and the skipper was Rosario) as they are much more fun.

The time was moving on and we wanted to find some quiet anchorages before the kids had to leave. We had another couple of beautifully peaceful nights but could see that more and more boats were in the bays. Although the school holidays and major tourist wave had not yet begun, the weather was growing warmer and we could feel that it was time to move on.

We farewelled Pat and Erika by putting them on the ferry at Mgarr on Gozo (where our trip to Malta started) and once they reached Malta they would take the bus to the airport. We did receive a message that they had reached the airport safely and as this is being written we assume that they made it home in one piece as well!

The next question was where we would head to? We initially had thought to do a long day trip that would take us to Syracusa in Sicily, but after checking the weather and the distances, we realised that we would not save much time by going via Sicily and decided to head straight to Greece.

Another dawn departure from Gozo and we were on our way – still seas and next to no wind, but we had a long trip ahead of us.