Magnificent Malta

We had such a great first night in Malta – meeting up with friends of a friend (Valerie and Adrian), their friend (Mario) and a fellow traveler, coincidently visiting from Germany. They took us to a local, off-the-beaten-path establishment where the conversation flowed as effortlessly as the wine. We returned to our hotel fat and happy and thinking the rest of our holiday would be hard to live up to this inception – instead, it set the bar to what has proven to be an awesome week, and it’s not over yet.

Today we’re taking a break from our vacation as the wind is blowing fiercely outside (not the best condition for cliff hikes), but we have been blessed with spectacular weather and even more spectacular sights.

Malta is a tiny island in the middle of the Mediterranean sandwiched between Italy, Tunisia and Libya, with visible influence from each. The language sounds like a mix between Arabic and Italian (heavy on the Italian). Its last conquerors, however, were British, so everyone speaks English, and for being such a small island, it packs a big punch.

Our first full day here we took the 20-minute ferry to Malta’s sister island of Gozo - an even smaller island measuring at around 25 square miles.

Hiking to the Dwejra (Azure Window) provided the most breathtaking of views. 

 We explored a few small towns …

and relaxed on the red-sand beaches of Gozo’s east coast at Ramla Bay.

Wednesday we experienced Malta’s city life at the center of Valetta. Shops, bars, restaurants and more shops. 

From there, we traveled to the southern coast to the fishing harbor of Marsaxlokk. It’s picture perfect with brightly colored fishing boats lining the shore and numerous family-friendly restaurants offering the catch of the day. Yum.

Thursday we explored Golden Bay, said to be the most beautiful sandy beach on the island. (Most of the beaches here are rocky, so sand is a luxury.) 

The water is currently too cold to swim, but the benefit of the winter months is the production of waves in the usually calm bay. A handful of surfers and stand up paddlers took advantage of this. We opted for a cliff hike to Ghajn Tuffieha Bay. (photo at top)

Working up an appetite, Jeremy managed to polish off the biggest burger I’ve ever seen. 

(As an aside, it may seem odd to travel to Malta and eat a burger, but we live in Germany. As talented as they are in preparing pork a hundred different ways, they don’t do beef as well. We haven’t had a decent burger in two years. We were due.)

Getting around has been rather easy - we have expertly navigated the Malta bus system and already feel we seamlessly slipped back into “island life.” There is an island mentality no matter where you are - the culture as a whole seems to slip back a millisecond in time to soak in the present. 

We have already stopped time, sat back and soaked it in ourselves – as well as predicting what the next few days will bring.