Sunday

The boat was packed for the trip to Gozo which meant long queues for the unlimited complimentary drinks at the bar. The journey was over an hour so we decided to sit inside to be out of the blazing sun. We managed to sit at a table on the left hand side so we could see the coast and the features pointed out by the commentary. On the return to Sliema we weren't so lucky and just had a bench seat at the back. After a brief look at a cave the boat docked in Gozo and we all piled into minibuses for a tour. We saw the blue hole and the inland sea (where Kath had dived the previous day), had an hour to wonder around Victoria then 2 brief photo stops before returning to the boat. The island is probably what Malta used to look like before becoming over developed for tourism and the Citadel in Victoria was lovely to walk around.

A few minutes across a small channel brought us (and hundreds of others) to the Blue Lagoon on Comino. To the right the beach was so packed you couldn't see the sand so we chose to walk left and sit on the rocks. Kath snorkelled and I had a lovely swim. Martin watched the madness in the bay; power boats, skidoos, inflatables being pulled by motor boats, lots of large boats disengorging hundreds more people. What a way to ruin a lovely spot. If you had your own sailing boat 5pm would be the ideal time to visit once us day trippers had gone home.

It was a full day and we certainly saw more than we would have managed if we had tried to go on our own and I'm pleased we saw Gozo. I was also relieved that the people on board were well behaved despite the free alocohol.

The Blue Hole and Inland Sea

The blue lagoon looking away from the crowds

Saturday

Today Kath had to be out at 7 for a dive on Gozo. Martin and I were going back to Mdina to have a proper look at the old city. That was the plan but the bus was only one an hour and the one we went for didn't turn up at all. We had a coffee not far from the bus stop and I kept my eye on the road watching the buses. Once it got round to the time for the next bus Martin checked Google maps which said that the bus was already several stops further away so I thought I must have missed seeing it go past. We gave up on our day out and decided to walk along the coast. And 10 minutes along our walk the flipping bus went past.

Ah well we had a pleasant walk and lunch overlooking a bay. We met Kath later in the afternoon for another cocktail. The diving on Gozo was even better so I'm pleased she ended her dives here on a high.

Manpower has a branch just round the corner. Not at all tempted to pop in and do a bit of Air show work!

The bay where we stopped for lunch must have once been a small fishing village. The old buildings have mostly come down and apartments built in their place. The construction is ongoing - there are cranes all over the place.

We have decided to go all out for our last day tomorrow - a full day excursion on a boat to Gozo and Comino, instead of trying to do it ourselves on the buses and ferries.

Friday

Kath was up and out early for her diving and we had made arrangements to meet her near the Blue Grotto after her dive. We hoped to see her surface but that was nearly scuppered by a tedious bus journey for us. We did manage to get there in time and sat and watched the numerous divers jumping in and clambering out, and we were on the lookout for Kath's pink snorkel. I was a bit concerned by the motorboats constantly buzzing past the dive area. Finally up she came happy to have seen starfish, an octopus, a moray eel and a fish which no one could identify.

Once Kath had changed we sat in a small garden area overlooking the sea to eat lunch. Afterwards we walked up to the viewpoint to see the Blue Grotto and catch another bus to the Dingli cliffs. The cliffs were a bit of a disappointment - I had been expecting something like the Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. We caught yet another bus home but this went through the old town of Mdina so we could see the old city and a really long aquaduct.

We sat in the sun on the prom once back in Sliema and had a lovely cocktail.

Just in front of the boat there are bubbles from a diver - far too close for my liking.

Kath is up

The Blue Grotto and waiting for a bus

The cliffs

Mohito time

Thursday

Today we had planned to go to the Blue Lagoon but the weather was quite dull and breezy so we changed to a walk from Golden Bay to Cirkewwa. We managed to get a bus direct from Sliema and arrived in time to have a coffee before setting off. Golden Bay consisted of the cafe, a sandy beach and a massive Radisson hotel. The walk went through an abandoned British military base and up onto the clifftop, passing towers and abandoned fortifications. After a few hours we came upon a rickety village which was actually a film set used for Robin Williams' Popeye the Musical film and is now a theme park - it is very incongruous in the middle of the countryside. We sat and had our lunch overlooking the village.

Setting off again we tried to folllow the footpath notes but the turning we needed was gated off so we abandoned that route and instead walked over to Melliaha Bay. Kath went for a paddle and I  soon joined her. The water was very cold to start with. We all had ginormous ice creams (mine was bright blue - supposedly candy floss flavour), then caught a bus to have a look at Bugibba. We had a short walk around the prom then got a bus back home.

We have travelled many miles on the buses but I haven't seen a single farm animal yet.

Brave sparrows looking for crumbs;

Popeye Village

Wednesday

We haven't spoken to a lot of Maltese people - there are many British ex pats running businesses here, especially the diving, but we have heard Maltese spoken and it's an unusual language. Apparently it is heavily based on arabic with Italian, Sicilian, French and Greek thrown in.

This morning Kath left at 7.30 for her dives. Martin and I had a walk planned on the east coast from Marsaskala to Marsaxlokk which meant changing buses in Valletta. The trouble was there were loads of people waiting for the same bus and one flew by as it was already full. We wasted some time looking at alternative places to go but then Martin spotted another route to Valletta so we jumped on a fairly empty bus. We had to wait for the connection and then it was nearly an hour to our destination. We were definitely ready for a coffee by the time we got to Marsaskala. The walk started well, following the coast around the bay but the path turned inland and the environment was a bit barren. The leaflet from the Tourist Office which described the walk was inaccurate and quite a few of the numbered markers were missing but we followed our noses and managed not to get lost.

We ate our lunch sitting by the pretty harbour at Marsaxlokk - well it's pretty if you look one way.....at one side of the entrance to the bay is a power station and the other side is a major container port! We had a wander then started our mission of returning on the buses. It was a real bundle trying to get on at Valletta and, by the time we got home I had resolved to find a day out for Thursday which wouldn't involve changing in Valletta.

We had kept in touch with Kath by text when she finished the dives. Her verdict was "ace" - she had dived to see a WW2 shipwreck and then a ship which had been purposefully sunk to create an artificial reef.

After a rest we all went out for a walk to make the most of a lovely evening and had a beer.

Marsaskala;

Salt pans;

Not much view

Better view;

Marsaxlokk;

Evening stroll;

Malta

On Monday we had a smooth journey; our trains to Gatwick and our flight were all on time. We purchased a weekly bus pass and got on a bus to Sliema where we are staying for the week. Kath had landed 90 minutes before us but her bus went round the houses so she hadn't been at the apartment for long before we arrived at about 5.30.

The apartment (Airbnb but all to ourselves) is great. Two bedrooms and a good sized kitchen and living area. It's on a fairly quiet street but church bells ring very early in the morning.

We went out for a meal then stocked up for the week at the supermarket.

On Tuesday we walked along the coast to St George's bay. It was a hot, sunny day.  This was one of my planned walks but it was punctuated with stops at every dive shop for Kath to check them out. We had our packed lunch by the bay and couldn't believe how people were roasting themselves on the beach without shade. We walked back to Kath's preferred dive shop and she booked in for 6 dives over 3 mornings.

We then caught a bus to the capital,  Valletta, about a 20 minute ride. Valletta is lovely and, after visiting the Fortress Builders exhibition we walked around on the walls.

I wanted to see the cannon fired at 4pm so I left Martin and Kath walking round the outside and cut through the streets to the Upper Gardens. Although I knew the cannon would be fired it still made me jump. The other two caught up with me and we had an ice cream and a rest in the gardens.