The day started with a salty observation. Malta is a dry country, or island I should say, since Gozo is much greener. It has to rely on desalination of sea water. Desalination does not always mean that all the salt is removed; The water in my hotel is salty and not meant for drinking. The taste becomes obvious when brushing one’s teeth though, and soap almost does not lather.
For tuesday’s activities, I decided on visiting the south of Malta, the neolithic temples of Tarxien, the pre-historic cave of Ghar Dalam at Birzebbuga, and the scenic fishing village of Marsaxlokk. All of these are described in most guide books. One easily gets the impession that they are a little more fantastic than they are in real life. The Temples in Tarxien are surrounded by ordinary buildings, which takes away a little of the magic. Ghar Dalam was very neat though.
Equally fascinating was travelling between these places. I make a point of taking ordinary buses. As I mentioned, they are all very quaint, ancient almost. On the route, nothing is very well marked, and I had to guess where Tarxien was. Villages tend to have blurred borders, if any, between them.
The Maltese people are very friendly though – somehow. I was going to Marsaxlokk and got on the bus to Valletta at Ghar Dalam (the cave). When asked where I should change bus to Marsaxlokk, not very far away, the driver answered Valletta! Ok, I sat down, but obviously some passengers objected discreetely to the driver. I did not understand the conversation, but eventually at a bus stop not very far away, a passenger told me I could change bus there, and also the available lines that would take me to my destination. That got me on the right bus and I got to Marsaxlokk in the quickest way possible.
Like in so many other places, people are embarrassed when they do not know the answer, and will provide you with any, right or wrong. To the driver’s credit one must say that he gave the answer he safely knew could not be wrong; All bus routes start from Valletta.
This is a very catholic country. St. John, mostly, stands in the corner of almost every other building, greeting the traffic from above in a hollowed out place for the statue. Personal displays of Virgin Mary, and Madonna & Child abound. Even bus drivers adorn their driving compartments with biblical scenes and sayings: Verbum Dei caro factum est!.
I cannot get over the feeling of kitsch when I see Virgin Mary decorated with a string of electric lights that would mostly be found in cheap restaurants and in christmas trees.
Churches are similar all over the island; Two belfrys surrounding the entrance, and sometimes the midship of the church has a cupola. The work of Gerolamo Cassar, the St. John Co-Cathedral, was so successful it was copied by every village parish.
Tha pastime par preference for women in Malta was said to be bingo. Still I was amazed to see a bingo party gather at the hotel, and bingo discussed on the bus by old and young women. Apparently there was something on the network TV, but I missed most of the conversation in Maltese.
What about the title of the posting then? For dinner at a good maltese restaurant I ordered quail for starter, and rabbit for main course. Typical maltese dishes. Through some impenetrable conversion on the way to the kitchen, the starter became snails, proudly presented to my table! Well, they were quick about acknowledging the mistake, but there had been so many misunderstandings this day, so I let it stand as a typical end of the day.
It is getting windy! Bad weather may be coming. Let’s hope the Hurricane makes it! Not to mention the Spitfire! The International Air Show in Malta starts soon!
