Best laid plans don't always come to fruition. We had planned to take the bus to go on our second hike but were luckily warned by the hotel the night before that there was a bus strike on Friday. So we ordered a car to take us there instead. When we went to the lobby to ask whether it had arrived we were met by a puzzled look. We had seen the concierge write it down but he had apparently written it on the wrong page. The hotel manager was informed and was most apologetic. He ordered us another one and said it was free which we thought was very nice.
The driver took us to the church in Marsascala where we found a small and very pretty harbour with a promenade all around it. The walk started by following the coast. We walked past old salt pans carved into the rocks. There was also a very long swimming area marked with ladders attached to the rocks for swimmers to get safely in to the water. There were several Maltese women taking the morning exercise in the water. It was very peaceful.
Following the coast, we walked past what looked like an abandoned hotel - not sure whether it was never completed or an old hotel past its prime. There are many half built buildings all over Malta that seem to have been abandoned. We wondered whether they were ventures that run out of money during the recession or whether they were just being built slowly- on Malta time.
The hotel we had passed had a huge graffiti picture of Gollum from the Lord of the Rings series, not holding his 'precious' ring but a Euro coin that was 'dripping', like it was draining away. Maybe a commentary on the state of the Euro. When we had first arrived in Malta, a young Maltese driver was lamenting the state of the Euro and commenting that it was a sad day when the Maltese adopted it in 2004 when they joined the EEC. However I had also read that in 2007-2008, Malta would have suffered far more if they had not.
We walked past the first of several forts we later saw. Like the rest, it was closed up and in bad dis-repair. Maybe one day they will have the money and inclination to revitalize some of them.
The walk then took us past another smaller fishing harbour and a small beach with Maltese families enjoying a dip in the sea. The next part of the walk took us up and over more heath type land- very dry and rocky but with stunning views as we climbed slowly higher. The coast line is very rocky on the south side of the island with caves and inlets. We saw very few other people until we came across a small lagoon area which turned out to be St Peter's Pool- a local haunt to swim which is hard to find unless you know where it is.
At this point we saw more of the RTO signs we had been warned about- RTO is a shortened version of ..... which basically means Private in Maltese. Lots of people apparently post these signs to stop people walking across land which is in fact public property but they just don't want you to go through it. We read that this has become a more persistent problem in Malta these days and some people are trying to fight it but it is very hard to know when lands truly are private or not. Later on we met a man who is Maltese and deliberately walks the known public paths to keep the pathways obvious and to make a point. At one point on the walk we walked across some land that we later found out was public property but we were chased away by a barking dog who luckily was more bark than bite.
We attempted to walk to a lighthouse on the end of the 'spit' but in the end wished we had not bothered as it was a longer hotter walk and there wasn't much to see in the end. Luckily the walk down into Marsaslokk was short and easy as it dropped right down into the harbor.
We had a very nice seafood lunch outside a restaurant on the quayside with the quintessentially Maltese fishing boats in front of others. They are are brightly painted with the same colors their families have used for centuries and the Osiris eye painted on the front for fortune and safety at sea.
After what turned out to be about a nine mile walk, we were glad to phone the car company and get a ride straight back to the hotel. It was then we discovered that there were a few buses running as it was only the Maltese drivers on strike but they were very intermittent.
That night we sat in the bar of the hotel listening to a piano player and decided we where too tired and not hungry enough to walk too far for dinner so we cheated and bought a very nice pizza around the corner, bought a bottle of wine form the bar and sat and ate it. The wine tuned out to be corked but the barman did agree with us and changed it.
The driver took us to the church in Marsascala where we found a small and very pretty harbour with a promenade all around it. The walk started by following the coast. We walked past old salt pans carved into the rocks. There was also a very long swimming area marked with ladders attached to the rocks for swimmers to get safely in to the water. There were several Maltese women taking the morning exercise in the water. It was very peaceful.
Following the coast, we walked past what looked like an abandoned hotel - not sure whether it was never completed or an old hotel past its prime. There are many half built buildings all over Malta that seem to have been abandoned. We wondered whether they were ventures that run out of money during the recession or whether they were just being built slowly- on Malta time.
The hotel we had passed had a huge graffiti picture of Gollum from the Lord of the Rings series, not holding his 'precious' ring but a Euro coin that was 'dripping', like it was draining away. Maybe a commentary on the state of the Euro. When we had first arrived in Malta, a young Maltese driver was lamenting the state of the Euro and commenting that it was a sad day when the Maltese adopted it in 2004 when they joined the EEC. However I had also read that in 2007-2008, Malta would have suffered far more if they had not.
We walked past the first of several forts we later saw. Like the rest, it was closed up and in bad dis-repair. Maybe one day they will have the money and inclination to revitalize some of them.
The walk then took us past another smaller fishing harbour and a small beach with Maltese families enjoying a dip in the sea. The next part of the walk took us up and over more heath type land- very dry and rocky but with stunning views as we climbed slowly higher. The coast line is very rocky on the south side of the island with caves and inlets. We saw very few other people until we came across a small lagoon area which turned out to be St Peter's Pool- a local haunt to swim which is hard to find unless you know where it is.
At this point we saw more of the RTO signs we had been warned about- RTO is a shortened version of ..... which basically means Private in Maltese. Lots of people apparently post these signs to stop people walking across land which is in fact public property but they just don't want you to go through it. We read that this has become a more persistent problem in Malta these days and some people are trying to fight it but it is very hard to know when lands truly are private or not. Later on we met a man who is Maltese and deliberately walks the known public paths to keep the pathways obvious and to make a point. At one point on the walk we walked across some land that we later found out was public property but we were chased away by a barking dog who luckily was more bark than bite.
We attempted to walk to a lighthouse on the end of the 'spit' but in the end wished we had not bothered as it was a longer hotter walk and there wasn't much to see in the end. Luckily the walk down into Marsaslokk was short and easy as it dropped right down into the harbor.
We had a very nice seafood lunch outside a restaurant on the quayside with the quintessentially Maltese fishing boats in front of others. They are are brightly painted with the same colors their families have used for centuries and the Osiris eye painted on the front for fortune and safety at sea.
After what turned out to be about a nine mile walk, we were glad to phone the car company and get a ride straight back to the hotel. It was then we discovered that there were a few buses running as it was only the Maltese drivers on strike but they were very intermittent.
That night we sat in the bar of the hotel listening to a piano player and decided we where too tired and not hungry enough to walk too far for dinner so we cheated and bought a very nice pizza around the corner, bought a bottle of wine form the bar and sat and ate it. The wine tuned out to be corked but the barman did agree with us and changed it.
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