The Maltese Bus Adventure

One thing we were told about Malta is that they have a great public transportation system. Buses run non-stop and go practically everywhere on the island so we’re game. We sauntered (retirees also saunter) down to the harbor where our friends the hawkers still want us to buy tours but we managed to restrain ourselves and instead bought a bus pass. For 7 days of unlimited travel by bus the cost was a mere 21EU per person, good bargain. So we bought our 2 passes and headed off to the Ta Qali Craft Village. Good thing about an unlimited bus pass is when you miss your stop, you get off and find another bus heading back to where you wanted to go. Not that we did that, well maybe.

The craft village is located on the site of the old Royal Air Force Station, yep same one as the Aircraft Museum, in retrofitted Quonset huts. Everything from wood crafts to glass can be found here with some shops having a factory located on sight. There are demonstrations of wood carving, silversmiths (filigree), pottery and glass blowing. We were lucky to see one of the glass shops making figurines. There were several men taking turns making a single ornament each with what appeared to be a special talent, one shaping, one forming basic details while another put on the finishing details and set the ornament in a curing oven. Pretty fun. After such a display one cannot simply walk away without seeing if there might be something in the shop that you can break on the way home. Collette selected a nice vase to go along with the one we got while in Murano, Italy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There’s always a surprise when you’re on one of these adventures. Collette and I usually carry a set of tree pruning shears everywhere we go just in case there is an opportunity to trim up a local tree. Just something we like to do, kinda like Johnny Appleseed only making trees a little neater. So far we’ve found that Malta is the only place that doesn’t allow this. Damn!

 

 

 

Back home in time for pizza and a glass of wine at our local haunt, The Compass. Pizza has a few different ingredients such as those yellow and white things, I think they’re called “eggs”. What the hell, I eat ‘em for breakfast so why not.

As we enjoyed the warm ocean breeze and the occasional smoke from a nearby cigarette, we noticed a sailing school out in the bay. Reminded us of when we went sailing with our friends Dave and Jody and how we learned to sail. Somehow being drug around the bay by a dingy doesn’t strike me as sailing, but this is Malta.

 

 

Day Two Bus Adventure

Well today we decided to get a little crazy and go to the beach. Malta has numerous beaches but most are rocky and can be a little difficult to get into since I’m still in the break-in period for my new hips. We reviewed the map and found a beach that all the other tourists use and it is sandy so off we go. Just a quick 50 minute bus ride gets us to Mellieha Bay where there is a sandy beach, a few restaurants and the usual beach rentals, chairs, umbrellas, jet skis, and this thing called “Great Big Mable”. Not sure how people write home telling their friends they went to the beach and rode Big Mabel. Anyway, we had lunch at the San Remo Beach Club and the hit the water for a brief swim.