Malta

Our next stop on our European Adventure was the tiny island country of Malta.  When we arrived on deck to take our first look at the port, we saw these beautiful buildings - I just love all the colors!

Our tour bus left early in the morning for a trip to the underwater caves and the Blue Grotto along the beautiful coastline.  The countryside was all beautiful, but wow, what a view when we got to our destination!  With the rocky cliffs all around us and the Mediterranean below us, the beauty was unmatched.  That is, until we looked down and saw a glimpse of the bright azure water the Blue Grotto was famous for...it was simply stunning!

There were several little 8 seat boats that took the passengers into each of the caves for a closer look. Each boat donned a unique color of umbrella, which added to the beauty.

The landscape was so gorgeous and it was exhilarating to be that close to the sea itself.  We learned that the sunlight reflects off of the limestone formations at the bottom of the sea to give it its unique bright blue coloration.  It was unlike anything I have ever seen before.

After our beautiful but all too brief boat ride, we got back on the bus to head to the village of Marsaxlokk, a traditional fishing village in the South East region of Malta.  The village is known for its market, so we made sure to check out some of the unique goods for sale - lots of handmade linens, jewelry, and of course, just about every kind of souvenir one could imagine.  We also learned that the dry wind that we were feeling actually came all the way from the Sahara Desert!  They often find their vehicles coated in sand and dust from that same Saharan wind.  Crazy to think we were that close to Africa!

After our bus returned to the cruise ship, we decided that it would be fun to venture out on our own for a bit before dinner.  Our port was in Valletta, which is the capital city of Malta.  As we headed down the sidewalk, a young man (Samuel) approached us with his horse and cart and offered to give all of us a ride around the city, hitting all the historic sites for 10 euro a piece.  We negotiated with him down for 5 euro a piece, and began the tedious (and hilarious) task of trying to load all five of us until a cart made for two! Grandma was more than a little hesitant about the whole thing, so when our horse, Billy, took off into a brisk trot up the hill she hollered, "Slow down and live!" as she white knuckled the side of the cart.  As we neared the top of the hill, poor Billy's pace slowed to a crawl as he heaved to pull all of us.  Grandma said, "This ain't no Buick!" and we had some pretty good laughs.

As we continued our ride down the middle of the street, we caused a bit of a traffic jam. There was a line of several buses behind us, waiting to get by.  We were giggling so much and were waving at the bus drivers and I think they got a kick out of how much fun we were having.  

We stopped at this beautiful overlook next to the Siege Bell Memorial that was built in honor of the 7000 people who lost their lives in the Siege of Malta in World War II.

Our trusty steed delivered us back to the cruise ship safe and sound, despite Grandma's worry about returning in one piece.  Our carriage ride was one of my favorite memories of the whole trip, mostly because we laughed so much.  Malta was such a stunning island and the people were wonderfully kind.  It was one of my favorite stops on our whole trip!  

Thanks, Billy!