Malta: Part 4

I really do have a lot to say about Malta, which is impressive since it's a very tiny island and we were only there for 7 days. The people were very friendly and the locals were always happy to give directions and suggestions.

We flew in on Friday and had luggage issues, and went to bed early. Saturday was consumed with the bus tour, so Sunday we wanted a lazy and relaxing day. We went for a walk on the beach, and the water was exceptionally cold, but it was beautiful! Our hotel had a dive and water sports shop, and we visited it to get the scoop on potential snorkeling and scuba diving trips. Ultimately, we didn't do anything water-based, but I would love to go back for some of those opportunities. There's a marked "snorkeling path" from the hotel beach, lots of shipwrecks, and some good shore dives. Malta law requires all visitors go diving with a guide, and the going rate is usually 40Euro per dive, with all equipment included. I really think that's a good deal.

After lunch on Sunday, we took a cab to Julian's Bay and visited the casino. I played roulette for about two hours and lost 12Euro. Tony scoped out the poker scene but I don't think he wound up playing very much. Frankly, it was kind of disappointing, but I always enjoy me some roulette! We walked around and had drinks and tapas, and then went to the movies. In English! We saw the third Hunger Games film. Then we had more drinks and Tony got kissed at a bar/club. You should ask him about it sometime - it was hilarious! We walked around some more, kind of looking for food and/or drinks, but by then I was pretty tired and my stomach was mad at me, so we caught a cab back to the hotel and called it a night.

On Monday we rented mountain bikes from our hotel and hit the trails in the National Park adjacent to Golden Bay. My bike was a little big for me, which was a bit of a struggle, and the park was a) hilly and b) rocky, which was not the best combination. I whined a bit and we definitely walked the bikes up the worst of the trails. The park is called Il-Majjistral Nature & History Park, and it was starkly beautiful and had amazing views of the water. It had some old historical and archeological sites, which we didn't really explore, though I got a nice picture of Tony in his bike helmet with the cliffs and ocean as a backdrop.

Hail the conquering hero

Maybe I should have led off with this, but we rented the bikes to ride to a destination, not just through the park. Any guesses where we were headed? I'll give you a hint: there's a song about it...No? Sweethaven! Still not familiar? That's the fictional town where the 1980 Robin Williams movie 'Popeye' was filmed! After we rode through the park, we were at the top of a hill (I am not exaggerating how hilly that place was. And I'm not ashamed to admit I pushed my bike up the scariest and rockiest paths) and basically got to coast downhill all the way to the village. I'm not crazy about high velocities on a bicycle, so Tony went shredding ahead of me while I zig-zagged and rode the brakes most of the way down. I counted three dead hedgehogs in the road. Frowny face! Malta is blessed with breathtaking views, and much like my first view of our hotel, I was in awe when I first glimpsed the Popeye village. It has been painted in the years since the film, and is far more colorful now. It sits on the water of Anchor Bay (so named because it used to be a disposal location for old ship anchors) and consists of something like 20 wooden buildings. Most of the construction materials were brought in from overseas, and the film team employed a group of ceramics-makers and seamstresses to create the majority of the set decorations and costumes. While I really enjoyed our tour, it was also a little sad, in the same way that state fairs are both wonderful and shabby, best viewed at dusk and not the harsh light of day.

Sweethaven, aka Popeye Village

Real boat in the harbor!

Some of the highlights of our excursion to Sweethaven were the wooden character cutouts (because everybody who knows me knows I love cheesy photo opportunities) and the watch tower. Less impressive was Santa's village, which is naturally seasonal and was filled with some truly creepy and scary elves, and smelled faintly of mildew. I also appreciated getting to go inside the buildings and get a closer look at all the props, and there was even a mini-museum with all sorts of old comic books, Popeye toys, and photographs. We also got to watch a 20-minute documentary on the filming of the movie, which was educational and entertaining! The walls of the theater were plastered with stills from the video, and it was really fun to see pictures of the cast and crew, so young! It was a little difficult to ignore the cobwebs and fading paint, but we were really happy we took the time to visit.

Cheeeeeese!

Popeye, Olive, and Sweet Pea figurines in the museum

Watch Tower in Sweethaven, overlooking Anchor Bay

We rode our bikes mostly up the giant hill, and wisely took the roads back to our hotel instead of biking through the park again. It took a little longer than we planned, and we missed lunch. So when we got back to the hotel we showered and headed down to one of the restaurants to have tea for two. It was fantastic! We got a pot of black tea and got a tiered stack of assorted sliders and desserts. Everything was pretty and delicious! I don't know that I've ever had a proper tea before, unless you count Irish breakfast tea - wait for it - for breakfast in Ireland, so it was a great way to spend an hour with my handsome husband, who is now a tea convert. After tea, we played several rounds of air hockey, and I am pleased to say that I was able to hold my own against Tony, who is a very fearsome competitor. I think we played 5 games, and time ran out on us on the fifth game because our battle was so even. Tony was ahead when the table shut off, so the tiebreaker goes to him. I'm not ashamed to admit it. :) We cooked dinner in the hotel room and that was the end of Sunday.