Melting in Malta

Friday 21 August 2015

travel

Melting in Malta

" She was brown as iodine, her hair was sun-bleached to a ghost-colour, she'd had a wonderful time... "

Bonswa (good evening in Maltese)!

Just over a week ago, the humid air of Malta consumed every inch of my body from tête to toe. On only a small island, Malta crams in various cultures within its boundaries; making recognisable to the traveller snippets of Sicily, Morocco and British civilisations. 

However, as a renowned religious country, Malta boasts its own traditions too! Evenings are often filled with the constant sound of  fireworks exploding in the sky, as each town competes with one another to present the best display. Churches and shrines can be discovered on every corner so it seems, and our day visit to the oldest city in Europe, Mdina, offered a historical insight into the constant invasions the island had taken. 

Travel: via boat
A short 10 minute taxi-boat transported us to the capital city, Valletta, whereby a stunning old town awaited us. Narrow streets of beige, brick walls lead oneself into the city squares, rammed with restaurants galore. A short walk to a lookout point at the top of Valletta revealed a panoramic view of the cannons (that are fired at midday) over the harbour.

For beach and boat lovers, the best way to see the island is via speedboat. We hired one with a skipper - a local whom knew the ins and outs of the coastline - and we were fast away on a 4 hour boat trip.

As someone who is slightly apprehensive about swimming in the sea since a bad jellyfish sting, the turquoise transparency of the sea washed away any fears I had! Our boat tucked in and out of coves before anchoring at different bays and lagoons, where the skipper would throw snorkelling equipment out to us in the water. Rather refreshing after being exposed in the sun on the boat!  

Our 7 days...
With temperatures soaring around 38 degrees and 90% humidity, the majority of our days were spent sunbathing and relaxing, before we headed into town (or one nearby) for tea.

The holiday was a pleasant wind-down into the Summer holidays and was filled with many delicious meals, drinks and giggles with my friend Annie and her family.    

Grazzi hafna (many thanks in Maltese) for reading!

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