Leaving the Balkans
We left Northern Macedonia returning to Albania. We stopped at a park where we had a boat ride, drank coffee and drinks, while we fed the ducks. We stopped at a park for lunch at a nice restaurant.
Our last night we had our goodbye dinner near our hotel. We all would be leaving very early to home or, in our case, the island of Malta.
We arrived at Valletta the capital of Malta and were able to get in our room right away despite being early. The Wife took advantage of the pool while I rested in the room. I joined the wife and we ate lunch at the pool restaurant.
As we ate, we watched yacht crews preparing their boats for the 600 km
Rolex Middle Sea Race. The race would start the next day. 117 crews started and 110 finished.
Later in the afternoon we walked to old town Valletta previewing our walking tour planned for the next day.
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| Neptune fountain outside old Valletta, Malta. |
Valletta, Barrakka Gardens, St. John's Co-Cathedral, and lower Valletta.
Our guide picked us up at the hotel and we went on a walking tour of old Valletta. He explained the history of Malta and the city. He pointed out government buildings and historical landmarks. We stopped to have lunch in an outdoor restaurant.
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| St. John's Co-Cathedral. |
After lunch we visited St. John's co-cathedral. The cathedral is beautiful and full of Maltese history. Our guide gave us a detailed tour pointing out sculptures honoring the builders and contributors to the cathedral. The tour ended with a Caravaggio painting, 'The Beheading of St John the Baptist'. Our guide pointed out things we would have missed and he made it interesting. He covered the life of Caravaggio who led an interesting life.
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| Caravaggio's "The Beheading of St John the Baptist". |
From there we went to the Barrakka Gardens overlooking the port and two old cities on the other side of the harbor which we would visit the next day. This was also the place to view the start of the boat race. Fortunately it was earlier in the day and the crowd at the garden had dissipated by the time we were there. The view from the gardens was interesting as you could get a feel for the old architecture of the city.
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| Senglea, Malta seen from the Barrakka Gardens. |
The day ended with a walk through lower Valletta, the less commercial and more pedestrian part of the old town. We say normal life here with less tourism.
Vittoriosa City, Senglea Gardjola Gardens, Marsaxlokk, and Hypogeum
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| Narrow streets in Senglea. |
Today our guide took us on the other side of the harbor to explore the other old cities. We visited different parts of these cities learning about the history of the cities.
We visited the Hypogeum, an archaeological dig under the city. The Hypogeum guide took our tour group through the digs pointing out religious and burial areas. The tour was well done and very interesting.
We stopped at a park for a view of the harbor from another angle and we enjoyed the views and a lookout post.
We ended the day in Marsaxlokk, a traditional fishing town. We visited the market and had lunch along the town harbor.
Island of Gozo, Calypso Cave Terrace, Salt Pans, Dwejra Inland Sea, Citadel Old Capital City, and Victoria
Today we left the main island of Malta for a day trip and took a fast ferry to the Island of Gozo.
We stopped at archeological ruins and explored the history of the islands. We visited the Calypso cave terrace to admire a panoramic view of the bay and valley. The cave itself was not open to visitors due to it being hazardous and damaged from previous visitors.
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| The salt pans along the Mediterranean sea. |
From there we visited the salt pans where salt has been collected for many years. The views from the viewpoint were amazing.
We visited the Dwejra inland sea and enjoyed more views of nature, cliffs, and arches.
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| Dwejra inland sea cliffs and arches. |
The day ended with a tour of the Citadel and the city of Victoria where we learned history, and, naturally, went shopping. The Wife and I are big travel shoppers though we usually have something specific to the location in mind.
Mdina Old Capital City, Rabat, Hagar Qim Temple, Dingli Cliffs, and Blue Grotto
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| Mdina old capital city. |
The last day of our tour combined history and nature like most of the tour. We first explored Mdina, the old capital city. We walked through the narrow, winding streets learning about the history and culture of the city.
We toured parts of Rabat including a lunch of Pastizzi a specialty from the area. We did more shopping and visited a church.
We visited ruins of the Hagar Qim temple. The impressive ruins are partially covered to preserve it. At this point I was a little ruined-out but it was still interesting.
Lastly we visited the Dingli cliffs and the Blue Grotto. We were going to take a boat ride here but the wind made the seas choppy so we only say things from afar.
Free Day
Our last day in Malta was a free day. We spent hours by the pool, me reading, the wife swimming, and we ate lunch poolside. In the afternoon we walked back to old town Valletta and had some ice cream and finished our last minute shopping.
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| Our hotel pool. |
The next day we returned home after three weeks on the road. It went smoothly despite the government shutdown. In the end, Malta was a nice way to end our adventure.
