Too Much in Malta to See in One Visit; I’ll be Back Soon

Day 27, 2024 Ultimate Mediterranean

Friday, Dec. 6, 2024; Valletta, Malta.

Malta was a wonderful surprise — a beautiful island country just 60 miles off the coast of Sicily. I mostly saw it through a bus window – not ideal, but I comforted myself knowing I will be back five times in 2025.

We arrived for a beautiful sail-in to the harbor at Valletta late yesterday afternoon as scheduled for this overnight port call. The weather wasn’t cooperating, and shortly after the gangway opened rain fell in buckets. Any thoughts I had of exploring the town at night (the sun is setting before 5 p.m. these days) disappeared.

I really should not let weather forecasts determine my plans. I won’t melt, and I have appropriate clothing. Others who went ashore for dinner had a good time and the rain didn’t last. Instead, I watched from the Crow’s Nest while writing my blog post about Egypt.

Due to high winds (and not laziness on my part), the tour operator canceled today’s booked excursion on a traditional Maltese boat called a dghajsa. Most other tours were sold out, but I managed to get on a panoramic tour of the island. In my haste, I overlooked the note at the end of the tour description: “This tour is ideal for those with mobility limitations or those who prefer less walking.” There was essentially no walking, as we stopped once at a public restroom and once at a scenic overlook. Even the advertised scenic spots on the tour were only visible through dirty bus windows. “Watch for a great view of the Blue Grotto” translated into “look out the left window at the ocean — the Blue Grotto is out of sight below the cliff.”

Looking on the bright side, I did see picturesque fishing boats, terraced farms and wine vineyards and strawberries growing under plastic covers.

We passed by medieval and modern towns, castles and colorful windows and doors.

At the north end of the island, we could see St. Paul’s Island in the distance. It is where Paul the apostle is said to have shipwrecked in 60 AD on his way to Rome. Today a large statue on the uninhabited island commemorates the occasion.

The 31-story Mercury Tower – the tallest building in Malta – was designed by the late Zaha Hadid, a famous Iraqi-British architect. Everywhere along the coast we saw the spray from the heavy waves – I guess it was a good thing I hadn’t gone out on a small boat.

When I come back next year, I’ll have a good sense of where I want to explore and sketch.

After the tour I walked a few blocks to the eight-story outdoor elevator to the top of the bluff, where I found museums, government buildings, churches and lots of shopping.

Despite the threat of rain, the streets were full of tourists – and dark-suited security guards. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe is meeting in Malta. I saw no sign of the reported spat between the U.S. secretary of state and the Russian foreign minister. Just a lot of black SUVs with tinted windows.

On one side of our ship’s pier was a warehouse section of brightly painted windows and doors. Across the harbor was a dry dock facility with a whimsically painted crane – locally known as the giraffe.

From here, it’s on to Tunisia (a first for me) and then Sardinia. We only have two weeks left on this Atlantic and Mediterranean adventure.