Welcome to Valleta, Malta

October 3

What a wonderful way to begin the morning looking out at the coast line of Malta’s main island. It reminded me a little of the Greek Islands and even a little of the Grand Canal in Venice when we pulled into port. It was a truly delightful day in a country that has a real talent for hospitality. We took the hop-on-hop-off bus with our dinner mate Sessil and we made our first stop at the Mdina Glass and although shopping is not one of my favorite things to do this factory allowed you to watch them in the elaborate process of blowing glass. I also stumbled across this charming silver store directly behind the glass blowers and the gentleman who owns the store showed me how he makes his creations and I found some lovely jewelry that I just had to buy for my sister and mother. It turned out this area we were in was a complex of small individual workshops were the artisans, all in different artistic trade, worked and in some cases sold their creations. I believe it was an old airport that had been adapted to be an artist’s village.

At one point we were stopped at a corner and a fruit/vegetable truck came up next to us and beeped its’ horn loudly and moments later an elderly woman came out of her home with a plastic basket and bought some of his goods. It seems like such a logically way to buy fresh produce and any fresh foods for that matter. My uncle (my grandfather’s brother), according to my mother, used to do the same thing in Boston when he first moved their in the early 1900’s except he had only a push cart and would yell out as he walked down the street and the woman would then come out of their houses and buy what they needed. The man today was very friendly to us and the woman even waved as she waited for her two large sacks of potatoes to be weighed.

Along the way through the country side the tour announcements told us how this particular area in Malta had been bombed more times in one day than any other place in the world. What was really amazing is that this little country of only about 270,000 inhabitants now and what must have been much less in the late 40’s and early 50’s was able with extremely limited resources to fight off the Germany air attack and through their determination and ingenuity and against all odds they won the battle and even were able soon after to prevent the Germanys from entering further into the Northern region of Africa. Malta received the highest honor bestowed on an individual person (a medal of honor you might say) from the English government for their dedication to preventing the enemy from taking over their own country but also the countries around them. And since it was the country at whole responsible for this amazing feat of courage and determination the award was presented in honor of all of the people of Malta. It is amazing to think that such a small group of people could do so much to prevent such evil from spreading but it just goes to show you that if you it isn’t always the one with the big muscles that wins but the one with the greatest heart.

We passed a city center area that also had its own war story and this one again demonstrated the true character of the people of Malta and a very unique and admiral character it is. The Mosta Church has a fantastic dome that is the largest unsupported church dome in all of Europe and what makes it even more impressive is it withstood a direct hit from a German bomb that was dropped accidentally through the center of the dome and when the bomb landed it miraculously did not explode and none of the parishioners attending mass at the time were harmed. Now what makes this story even more reflective of the character of the people of Malta is that after the war the pilot who dropped the bomb intending not to hit a church but an army airstrip a ways off came to Malta to apologize for his mistake as he was so horrified by what he had done. The people of Malta being clearly generous and forgiving welcomed him and thought it so courageous of him to stop foot in Malta that they held a celebration in his honor. You have to love people who in a time of peace can focus more on healing and rebuilding than on vengeance. I really like these people and their way of life very much.

The next stop was the walled, hilltop town of Mdina which is one of the oldest parts of the Island and is all old buildings now renovated and used as museums and such. It was a charming walk through the old cobble stoned streets and past some tea houses and even some still inhabited homes.

A little drama ensued when we tried to get back on the tour bus as there were too many wanting to get back on and not enough getting off so we were told we’d have to wait an hour in line until the next bus could arrive. We however chose to get a local bus which was right down the street and that took us through some small neighborhoods and past the former aqueducts that go directly through many of these neighborhoods and are so close to the entrances of some of the houses that the home owners park their cars underneath the arches. It was a lot of fun to be on the bus with only locals running errands, going and coming from work and generally make their way across the Island like we were. Everyone we encountered was delightful and always ready to offer directions or assistance in any way.

The bus let us off in Valetta which is a fun area for shopping and incorporates so much of the old buildings with some new ones and there are even ruins that have been turned into an outdoor theater right in the center of town. We saw an art exhibit that embraced diversity and clearly Malta is trying to make the world a better place by being a good example for us all.

Also in Valetta is St. John’s Cathedral which I was most anxious to visit while here as they house a gallery with several of Caravaggio’s paintings including the famous “The Beheading of Saint John” which was his largest canvas ever and the only one of his painting he ever signed and interestingly it was done in the color of Saint John’s blood and directly underneath where this now severed head lay. Although the subject matter was not exactly uplifting, the work itself was inspirational and moving. The Cathedral, although I spent very little time in it was more ornately decorated with every space either adorned with carvings, paintings, gilded works or intricate marble patterns.

Mom and Sessil did some shopping while I was in the Cathedral and when I got out they even stopped to sample some local drink.

We were only a short walk back to the pier and what a charming walk it was down a winding slope to a picturesque promenade and then down a few sets of marble stairs to a side street just above the harbor area. Another thing to love about the people in Malta is they are real animal lovers and at the base of the marble steps there was a park on our right and in the park were about 15 or so wild cats. Now normally I would be very upset to see animals without homes but these cats were not only adorable they were in tip top shape, very well fed and looking perfectly groomed. Near the napping animals was a little doghouse type green building and a wooden structure to hold cat food. In fact the municipal authorities actually fund and encourage the good care and feeding of these animals and have a city sign stating “Cat Café” or cat feeding area with an arrow pointing to the feed hut. Every moment spent on the island me want to spend many more days and made me appreciate so much that it is possible to create a society where culture, hospitality and integrity rule.

Right before we made our way down the final street to our ship we saw a gas station that is operated basically out of the first floor of someone’s home. The two gas pumps are right there on the sidewalk and cars were just pulling up the house like they were making a visit to a friend except someone comes right out and fills their tank with gas. I had to take a picture of it because I’d never seen anything exactly like it.

I have officially fallen in love with Malta and I recommend to anyone who has the pleasure of being in this part of the world that you make an effort to visit Malta but do stay at least 3 days and absorb all its wonders. It really is a must, must, MUST visit country.

On board again I spent most of my time in my favorite place, the spa. This time mom joined me and we played in the sea water hot tub with lots of other guests and the spent time the steam rooms and Turkish Sauna.

Dinner was particularly special as the Captain and his immediate staff joined us and it was a festive event culminating in a champagne toast and the Italian national anthem. Costa Cruise lines, is an Italian company so most everything that is done on board has a distinctly Italian flair and all announcements are made in Italian first and then English. The captain even came around and toasted us all individually.