Then with my Rough Guide to Malta in my pocket (which has a very handy map of the Mellieha area in it), I set off walking. I had no idea exactly how far I had walked until I spotted a sign post on my way back. In all this morning I've walked a round trip of about 15km. The trip would normally be about 12km, but I took the scenic route so I could also take in the Ghadira Wetland reserve and the stunning Ras Il-Qammiegh cliffs.
Ghadira Wetland Reserve
The Ras Il-Qammiegh CliffsI got to the Red Fort shortly before 10am and was waiting there when the curator turned up to open the place. It is only open 10am-1pm, so going and seeing it when I did is really the only option if you are without a car, as walking up there any later in the day would be madness. The curator as it happens is British, an ex-pat, and she was glad to chat to another Brit, being nice enough to share her supply of very cold bottled water with me, which was much appreciated.
The Red Fort is one of a series of coastal watchtowers that guard the approaches to Malta. In it's case it was built to keep an eye over the strait that seperates the main island from the smaller islands of Comino and Gozo and the view from the roof is stunning. The building is built with many arches and vaulted ceilings as the Knights who built it designed it to withstand cannon fire. In its day it was home to 49 soldiers in wartime. It was also used by the British as a signal tower during World War 2.
The plaque on the wall beside the fort's entrance.
A scale model of The Red Fort.
The same model from another angle. Originally there was a drawbridge at the top of those stairs, though nowadays it is a fixed bridge.
A view from the battlements of The Red Fort, looking across to the north of Malta. You can see the lesser islands of Comino and Gozo in the background, which serves to demonstrate how well placed the tower is!
This is an interior shot of the fort. Note the arched window. All the roofs, windows, corridors inside are arched, the reason being that the Knights who built the tower designed it specifically to withstand cannon fire. The inside is very cleverly laid out, so that any impact on the walls would be minimised by the interior construction. It would be very hard for cannons mounted on raiding ships to do much damage to this fort at all, whilst they would be pounded by the forts cannons!The trek back was a lot quicker than getting there as I took a shortcut through an area set aside in the 1970's for an Afforestation project. All I can say is that they've got a long way to go if they ever do plan to grow a forest on that hillside, because all that is there right now is scrub brush and a whole lot of cactus. On the seafront I got talking to a very lovely girl selling boat trips, by the name of Charlotte. Another ex-pat (she is half-Maltese and half-Welsh), we talked for a while before I needed to be heading onwards. A shame that the boat trip I was interested in (A night trip to the Blue Lagoon on Comino with a BBQ) was sold out, else I would have bought a ticket.
I did buy a sun hat on the way back up the quite considerable hill to the Antonine. Time for pizza now though and then the pool (the one in the garden as the indoor saltwater one doesn't interest me and neither does the one on the roof). I am writing this sat on my rooms balcony in the shade. Ohh and I found the cyber cafe too, so I'll check that out later on.
1:40pm - Had a very nice lunch at the Al Ponte. Garlic bread for starter, followed by a 3 cheese and ham pizza with a glass each of Diet Pepsi and Kinnie to wash it down. Just got back to my room after finding a good local store that sells big (and painfully cold to hold) bottles of water for just 35 cents. The minibar bottles are a third of the size and 60 cents each by comparison!
The cyber cafe as it turns out is more of a cyber closet in that it is a tiny room with just 2 PC's. I will be making my way to the pool shortly so I will ask at reception about use of the cyber cafe as I presume it will have to be booked in advance. For now though the cool waters of the pool (and the semi-clad young ladies lounging nearby) call to me.
5:25pm - Back from the pool, my enjoyment of which was only spoiled by my goggles strap snapping when I put them on. The rubber of the strap had decayed to breaking point it seems, my own fault for not testing them back home. Still I've had fun by the pool, alternating swimming with rest periods where I would read a novel with a T-shirt on. I made sure to top up my sun lotion from time to time. I already have blisters from this mornings exertions, sunburn I can do without. I've bought a voucher for the hotels cyber cafe. 2 Lm for 100 minutes use is a pretty fair price I thought, so I've posted an entry on the blog just to let the folks back home know that I'm okay etc as I'm sure Mum is worried sick, she was having nightmares before I'd even gone anywhere!
I've applied after sun gel now and I have no idea what I'm going to do this evening. Tomorrow I think I'll check out the WW2 bomb shelter down the street and lounge by the pool some more now that I've bought some new goggles from the tourist shop across the street. Shame I had to leave the pool really, but they needed to get it ready for some big Fish BBQ thing out there tonight, which is both expensive and fish. I don't do fish. Think I'll grab a dinner at one of the little cafe/restaunrants along this street. An early night sounds good too as I ache everywhere.
11pm - I've had a great night. I had dinner at a very nice restaurant (L'amigo), which was just up the hill from the hotel. I had a pasta dish, the name of which escapes me as I write this, the pasta was like very thick spaghetti though. It was served in a blue cheese sauce (I love blue cheese) with ham and mushrooms. I had a very nice (and very cold) bottle of white wine to accompany the meal. All in all, money well spent. A quick jaunt down the street brought me to the Bar 120 where I proceeded to try and find the right alcohol to mix with Kinnie, much to the barmans amusement and then amazement when he tried it with Cointreau, truly a winning combination!
From there I headed across the road to the Antonine's cocktail bar where I educated another barman in this mix (though it cost more there, 0.85Lm in the Bar 120, 1.40Lm in the lounge, harsh!). Having drunk that I proceeded onto the liquour coffees of which they do quite a range on their menu, though shockingly no Bailey's coffee. After trying their Calypso coffee (Tia Maria, had to be done), I ordered a Bailey's coffee and this actually surprised the man. The barman was a lot of fun to watch as he effortlessly produced some truly crazy looking drinks, many of which I'm keen to try at some point.
He also got the guy playing really sorrowful piano/organ tunes (lounge music) to play a superb rendition of Everything I Do (I Do It For You) at my request. I smiled all the way through (but that may have been the alcohols doing, I did have rather a lot of it in my system by then). I came here with 72Lm and after 2 days I have 35Lm left. Looks like I'm going to be needing that extra cash I left in my bank account after all. Not so much tomorrow though as I'm sticking close to the hotel then. Right now though, sleep beckons to me.
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