Saturday 8, Gozo island

In Gozo the lady working at the Tourist information office right by the harbour, sold me a guided tour of the island in less than 3 minutes.. I was not sure it was a good deal, but I had only few hours and wanted to see as much as I could. Well, I had a very good time! Paul, the guide, drove me (and others) up and down the island, telling us all he knew about Malta, its history, language and culture.
We started from Victoria and its citadel, moving then to the salt pans and Marsalform, stopping at Calypso’s cave and then having a look at the fourth biggest dome in the world. Our journey ended at the “Belvedere view”: a breath taking view of the 3 islands of Malta: Gozo, Comino and Malta (of course!).
And as if that hadn’t been enough, on the way back to Malta on the ferry, I had the chance of seeing the sun falling asleep on the sea and the moon taking its place in a sky shading from bright pink to pure white the into clear and and then deep blue. Not a cloud was spoiling such an elegant and magnificient work of nature.

Saturday 8, change of plans

“I would like to go to Popeye’s Village” I said “ I know there is a bus service going there..” I did not even end my question that the man replied “I am sorry dear, but the road to Popeye’s village is closed and there are no buses going there.. You can walk if you want, it will take you an hour”. Too much time, I thought, I will surely run late for the ferry..
I suppose the old man understood my disappointment because he then added “.. but there are quite a few interesting things to see here in Mielleha too!”

5 minutes later I was ready to discover all the hidden corners and beauties of this small town: the sanctuary and its healing powers (unfortunately I am not a big fan of mysticism …I very much appreciated though the marbles and mosaics decorating the floor of the church and the two impressive statues of lions guarding the main altar), the church built underground in a cave (quite a frightening experience I have to admit…walking down sloping wet stairs, almost crawling into darkness, smelling dampness and musk…) and finally a walk in the sunshine and silence all the way down to the bay.
Images:
A solitary black cat sitting on a wall, wooden windmills, cactuses and prickly pear trees. A light sea breeze, the pleasant warmth of the sun, the colours of a tropical sea right in front of me.

Once I believed I had enjoyed enough the nature around me, I checked the time and realised I was running later for the ferry! I literally jumped on a bus to Cirwekka but once I got to the harbour the ferry was already ready to leave and did not let any more passengers for boarding.
Waiting for the next one wasn’t such a waste of time: I had something to eat (pastizzi!) and took (more) pictures.

Saturday 8, January

I hung around Sliema strand while waiting for the 645 bus to Cirkewwa. It was a luminous morning, it was going to be another sunny, fine day. The bus left with a slight delay on the scheduled departure time… the bus driver made up for it keeping a heavy foot on the accelerator. The bus journey lasted 45 minutes and followed northwards the Maltese coastal line.
I decided to stop in Mielleha before getting the ferry to the Gozo island. I needed some information and according to the map, there was an Information Office there. The door of the Tourist office was open and the light was on but no one was there. “The office is closed!” someone said behind me. “Is it really?” I replied surprised turning to the voice that just spoke to me. An old man with a British accent smiled at me “Can I help you?”.

Friday 7, 10 pm. From my moleskine

“I am back at the hostel after having spent the rest of the day making myself comfortable with what seems new and different.
The hostel develops vertically. Marble, steep narrow stairs, bright red walls and a black deco-style banister walked me all the way up to door 7A. My room is on the fourth floor, the top floor. It has a big terrace which overlooks the Old Sliema with its balconies and flat roofs. In the darkness I can still see the outline of Valletta – the capital city. It is hiding the stars sliding into the sea. Next to it, the blinking light of the lighthouse tells me that the harbour is just there.
I wish I could fall asleep on the terrace.. such view is the best lullaby for my eyes…”

Friday 7, January

I had a good night of calm and deep sleep. I let the alarm clock snooze a couple of times before eventually getting out of the warmth of the woollen blankets.
The snow of the precedent day had turned into freezing drops of water. Patches of snow though, still coloured the brown and wet garden.
It was still quite dark; the dawn had just woken up too.

While driving along industrialized areas, fog surrounded me, blurring the shape of factories and warehouses. Everything looked quite and silent, drowsy.
I boarded the plane whistling softly a melody made of random notes. I found a sit by the emergency exit and experienced the pleasure of stretching legs and body in the confined space of a low-cost flight.
“Clear sky with plenty of sunshine and a temperature of 17 Celsius degrees” , the Captain announced. “And it is only 11.30 am..” I thought.
I smiled and followed the instructions given by someone of the cabin crew: I sat back and relaxed.
What a great idea booking a 3-day holiday in Malta, a dot of land (actually 3 dots) in the Mediterranean sea.
When in Malta, if you stretch your neck northwards you may be able to see Sicily.
Westwards instead you may see the coastal line of Tunisia. If you instead prefer looking southwards then make sure you turn your body all the way to the East: you may feel the beauty of Africa rolling from Libya all the way to Turkey, Cyprus and Greece.


When I got off the plane, I immediately felt the warmth of a southern sun. In two hours I went from a European winter to an early spring weather. Let’s start exploring this country then..

31/12

(On a train to a new year's party)

There is a group of friends sitting next to me. They look in the early 20's, they are quite excited, certainly in waiting for midnight. They are all carrying bags that look quite heavy. They do not stop chatting and -at times, buzzing about family and same age boys and girls.
One of them has just suggested to write on a piece of paper a bad memory of this 2010 which is coming to an end. "We will then burn it before midnight so we will not bring the bad memory in the new year". Her friends agreed.
"Good idea" I thought and I agreed too.
So i started thinking to all the bad things that occured to me in these past twelve months.
Not and easy task reviewing facts and people. So much happened and I was starting to struggle in trying to disentangle the hank of situations that I have experienced in this 2010.
After some time, I surrendered.
I was unable to choose the worst memory of all.
All along this 2010 I kept on stepping of my feet, stumbling over, lacking attention and a self fulfilling direction.
I may simply write "2010: the year of missed chances and wrong decisions". Then I'll fold the piece of paper up , take the lighter from my pocket and burn my bad memory.

For the first time in my life I have a new year resolution.