Valletta, Malta

Our day in Malta was spent in the company of Vivian and Bob (our cohorts from Katakolon) and another couple from Canada, Coreen and Ken. We met them on Cruise Critic also and have teamed up to share a van and driver for the day. Coreen and Ken are on this trip to celebrate their 25^th wedding anniversary. Just newly weds compared to us.
We step off the ship and directly in front of the gangway is Ronald our guide and the van for our outing. We start with a short driving tour of Floriana and Valletta before heading for the ancient capital city of Mdina located at the highest point on Malta. Before reaching Mdina we stop for a scenic view of where we have been. Here even though at quite a distance we can clearly see the Mosta, the round domed church which is the third largest unsupported dome in Europe. The largest is St Peter’s in Rome, the second is the Hage’ Sophia in Istanbul and the Mosta is third. We have now been privileged to see all three. During WWII a bomb was dropped thru the dome during mass. As God would have it the bomb bounced three times before
embedding itself in the floor without exploding. The dome was repaired, the hole in the floor was not and it now contains a replica of the bomb.
Mdina is a walled medieval city that is very beautiful. Now days most of the buildings house shops geared toward the thousands of tourists who visit each year and features Malta glass shops, and of course shops selling Maltese crosses and replicas of the infamous Maltese Falcon and many restaurants. It is easy to get lost in the maze of narrow streets that wind serpent like around and through each other. But eventually you find your way back to the entrance and over the moat bridge. You can hire a horse drawn cab but the easiest way is just to walk. The horse drawn cabs are only allowed to enter Mdina if both the cab and the horse have rubber shoes so as not to damage the cobbled streets.
After leaving Mdina we drive on some of the worst roads we have encountered on our trip. We discover that we are driving on what was the British runway. Evidently they didn’t care about dips and rolls and potholes for the planes landing and taking off. I imagine this is what a stagecoach felt like in the old west. Yee! Ha! Podna!!
We head out for the Dingli Cliffs and some spectacular views of the opposite side of the island. From there it is Blue Grotto time. Tucked into a small fishing boat with an 8hp Evinrude outboard we venture into the ocean along the cliffs. In and out of small niches in the lava rock and then into the main cave of the Grotto. The water here is iridescent blues and greens, we assume caused by the lava rock. It is so clear you can see the bottom even out of the main source of light. Personally I think it was a rip-off at E7 per person but you don’t know till you have been there. The rest of our little band was very impressed so I more or less hmm’d and hawed also and kept my own council.
At 1pm we enter the Hypogeum, a series of caves scooped from solid rock in the middle of the city that was created in excess of 5000 years ago by pre-historic man as a necropolis. Over a period of 1000 years over 7000 souls were interred in these underground caves. They were discovered by accident at the turn of
the last century and are still being studied. There are several of these on the island.
The tour is in close quarters and if you can’t climb stairs don’t go. It was very interesting to see some of the paintings still visible on the ceilings and walls. And the outside of some of the chambers are carved to resemble monoliths that can be found above ground. This was all accomplished using only tools made of rock, flint and bone.
We say goodbye to Ronald and re-board our ship. Time for a quick nap before dinner.