April 7, 2023 – Valletta, Malta

I opened the curtains at 6 am.  Breathtaking!  What is this magical place? We are docked right in the old city of Valletta, Malta.  The full moon is sparkling on the water with the old city as the background.  Valletta, the smallest capital of the European Union, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  

To experience a city untouched by time, it’s worth a visit to the UNESCO-designated ancient quarter of Mdina.  One look at its golden limestone walls, maze-like alleyways, magnificent palaces and picturesque churches.  This exquisite setting is also home to an architectural gem and a testament of faith.  The Apostle Paul lived here after being shipwrecked in 60 AD.  The breathtaking 17th century cathedral that bears his name dominate the skyline.

We disembarked the ship for a tour.  It began with a walking tour of the old city.  We took a bus to the top of the ancient wall.  The old city is elevated above the harbor.  It’s a gorgeous day, blue sky and nice spring temperatures.  The flowering trees are hot pink.  The ancient walls are tall and wide.  Gardens that overlook the port are colorful.  We can see yachts in the marina.  Impressive fountains adorn the town. It’s a very walkable city with many restaurants and shops.  We quickly took a peek in St John’s Basilica.  It’s Good Friday and we didn’t want to interrupt any ceremonies.  Every basilica has it’s own unique beauty.  St John’s had a high, barrel shaped ceiling adorned with paintings, gold arches and round windows that allowed the light to shine in.  The church had a golden color inside and elaborate marble floors that were very detailed in story telling.  

Next we visited the Malta Experience that is an educational audio-video show telling the story of 7,000 years of Malta history (we walked through an underground tunnel to reach the theater). It’s staggering what this island has been through.  On December 28, 1943, the unofficial white-red flag of Malta was augmented by the addition of a blue canton bearing a representation of the George Cross, a military decoration granted by King George VI of the UK for the heroic defense of Malta by its inhabitants during World War II.  It was an excellent presentation of their history.  My mind was overwhelmed with the information.  I’ll only touch on the history from WWII.

During WWII, Malta was essential to the Allied War effort as it provided a base to disrupt Axis supply lines to Libya and also for supplying British armies.  The German and Italian high commands also realized the danger of a British stronghold so close to Italy.  More than 14,000 bombs were dropped destroying about 30,000 buildings but Malta still fought on. I did not realize that Malta was one of the most intensively bombed areas during the war.  The German and Italian Air Force flew a total of 3,000 bombing raids dropping 6,700 tons of bombs on the Grand Harbour area alone, over a period of 2 years.  Astonishing what these people went through.  Strong and brave, they did not surrender.  Thankfully underground tunnels from ancient times were their protection.  The island was not self sufficient and relied on Allied convoy’s to supply food, fuel and ammunition.  Ultimately, they were on the brink of starvation and out of everything.  They prayed for a miracle.  The heroic mission called Operation Pedestal was made up of 14 merchant ships, of which only 5 made it to Malta and saved them from starvation.  The tiny island survived and hailed for their heroic defense of Malta.

Next we took a bus ride across town to what they described as an old farm house for lunch.  This farm house was very large with a formal courtyard.  They had set up a buffet lunch for several tours from our ship.  Many Mediterranean dishes with lots of good vegetables, variety of salads, breads, olive oils, pastas and wine.  

After lunch, we drove to Zurrieq, famous for the blue grotto.  We paid 10 euros, got into a small boat and motored out around the corner to the blue grotto.  It did not disappoint! We were in the boat with our friends, Bev and Peter.  We went into multiple natural sea caves with the bluest of blue water that was very enchanting.  

We traveled back to the port and went into some shops before boarding the ship.  We were departing soon, but some people went to see the Good Friday processionals (Holy Week Pageant) through the streets.  I’m sorry we didn’t go but didn’t think we had time before all aboard.  The processional was very elaborate with many dressed as biblical characters, Roman soldiers and Jesus carrying the cross the day of His crucifixion.

The sun went down and it seemed to be uneventful, but suddenly the sky was purple.  One of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever witnessed!  It’s Good Friday and the sunset was purple for a reason.  Purple, the color for a King!  How Appropriate! It was also setting over the Chapel of the Flight Into Egypt by the Holy Family.

We sailed away from the enchanting island of Malta.  The walled city was lit up at night still making it golden.  What a truly unexpected treasure and place I will never forget.  Of course, we would love to visit again.