Our day in Malta began with much anticipation and a bit of confusion, too. Pretty much a typical adventure for us!
Our stop in Malta was exciting because we were leaving the ship for about a week, and since we had experienced some difficulty with immigration at the end of our last off-ship excursion we wanted to be extra-careful this time. I checked with the powers-that-be on the ship to make sure that everything was squared away for our departure. And, I wasn’t that surprised to get a call from Passenger Services, alerting me to the need to check out through Malta Immigration. We would have to be escorted by the Administrative Officer from the ship to meet with someone from Immigration on shore. We had booked a 9:00 private tour of the island, which would drop us and our luggage at a hotel for the night, so we arranged to meet the ship’s officer at 8:30. After a brief delay, she arrived and escorted us to meet with an immigration officer, who could not be found. He eventually arrived, apologizing for being late. He had been stuck behind a horse-drawn carriage. No problem.
This very friendly gentleman looked at the four of us, and then at the Administrative Officer quizzically. “You are entertainers?”
“Well,” I thought (but didn’t say),”We can be pretty entertaining at times, but nobody has ever offered to pay us for such services.” Actually, we just told him that we were passengers, and not employees of the ship. As it turns out, since we were not employed on the ship, we didn’t need any special attention, and we were free to go. So off we went.
We met our driver, who found our guide, and we all set out to spend the day seeing Malta. Malta has an extraordinary history, mostly because of its strategic location and wonderful natural harbor. Charles can recommend books about history if you are interested. It is fascinating, but long and complicated.
Our first stop was the cathedral. It is not quite like any other that I have ever seen. And I have seen quite a few cathedrals in my time. The walls are deep green with gold leaf covering much of the surface. There is great art, including a number of paintings by Titian, all around. Even the floors are covered with historic works of art. In the first picture, you can see the amazing mosaic memorials to the Knights of Malta interred below.
The Knights of Malta (aka the Knights of St. John) were fascinating. They ran amazingly high-quality hospitals as far back as the Middle Ages.
We learned the story behind the term “The Maltese Falcon” when we stopped at a view point along the road. There was a man there who raised falcons and other birds of prey. You can often hold them, but since it was falcon breeding season, we got to hold owls instead. That was still fun. Anyway, the “Maltese Falcon” became famous because King Charles V of Spain gave the Knights of St. John the island of Malta in perpetuity, he only required them to supply him with the (then, but not now) easily-obtained falcon once a year on All Saints’ Day. Now we know how the movie got its name.
Next it was off to Hagar Qim, a complex of temples (in ruins) dating to 3500 BC (or so). There is a lot of work going on to figure out what was going on in these buildings so long ago. They appear to have belonged to goddess cult that had an interest in the seasons. There is a window through which the sun shines on the Summer Equinox, and another for the Winter Equinox. These people knew a lot about nature. Apparently this isn’t the only temple like this on Malta. I hope we will learn more about it. As usual, the kids enjoyed visiting this site. They are genuinely awed by the ruins of ancient civilizations, and it is also fun to climb on things when you can.
We had lunch by the sea in Marsaxlokk, a traditional fishing village. The fish was fresh and wonderful, and the view was delightful as well. After our visit the Marsaxlokk, we went to see the medieval town, with its twisting streets and memorials to the Knights of Malta. After that, we were driven to our hotel to prepare for a very early flight to Rome, where we would meet Jessica!
Back soon (sorry for the delay. The internet has been really slow).
Blessings,
Linda
