A Maltese Junkyard surrounded by a limestone block wall. Note the Cathedral off in the distance. Our walk takes us there on the way to the 5500 year old Ggantija Temple.
So far our blog has been seen by 295 unique users and received 2495 hits. Wow! Those are big numbers for a little travel blog for family and friends. However those numbers are far from real. The real unique users are about 20 or so, and real hits are about 300. If you look under the covers, about 80% of the hits are from China, and another 10% from Russia and the Ukraine, all trying to hack the admin password. Luckily there are plugins available to help “blacklist” IP addresses of offending computers. Last night was particularly fruitful with 10 more computers blacklisted. By the way, if you use simple passwords like qwerty, 12345…, 121212, etc. your blog would be history by now (I can see what passwords folks attempt to use). I’m sure the same applies to your email account, bank accounts, etc. . -Dave
The leggy “lady” on the left has a rather deep voice…(photo from Madrid)
No, the picture above has nothing to do with this post but we had to throw it in somewhere.
So how much does it cost to live in Madrid or Malta? I thought I would highlight some of the costs comparisons between United States/Tacoma and what we are experiencing in Malta and Madrid. Overall day-to-day costs are definitely lower here. To balance the picture though, I have no idea what folks in Spain or Malta pay in income taxes or health care costs, nor do I know what there average pay level is.
1) Our Malta ferry from Malta main island to Gozo was $5.50 round trip. A comparable ferry from Mukilteo to Clinton (Whidbey Island) costs $4.80 one way. Bus tickets for all day are $1.75 where as an all day bus pass in Tacoma is $5.00.
2) Can of tomatoes here 45 cents, nice ground beef $3.50/lb, large crusty bakery bread 98 cents/loaf, premium pastries (tart or cheesecake) $1.60 from a bakery, dinner bills with two drinks and two entries about $25 (would have been about $35 in the states). Groceries seem to get about a 10% tax however other things don’t seem to get taxed or the taxes are included in the price.
3 )Our furnished Madrid apartment would rent for about $1100/month and an equivalent apartment in Seattle would be about $2,200/month. Our furnished apartment in Malta rents for about $600/month and would be equivalent to a place like Tacoma where rents would be about $1,200/month. Note the prices for Madrid and Malta are all inclusive (costs of the apartment itself, electricity, trash, internet, etc.) where as the cost in Tacoma and Seattle are apartment only. As such you could add another $200 to the stateside costs to get a good comparison.
4) Museums are probably about the same. We pay about $5 for small museums and about $15 for large museums (like the Prado in Madrid).
5) The only cost that seems to be higher here is gasoline. It would run about $6.45/gallon here in Malta and I’m guessing about $2.00 in Tacoma at the moment.
Note: All numbers have been converted from euros to dollars. -Dave
Dave gets credit for this image. I’m still not used to where to look for traffic – they drive on the left. Yes – the skies finally glazed over and we had a cool breeze Saturday.
Safety: A person using a wheelchair or walker could not get around easily. Narrow, steep stairs are the rule, and if there is a sidewalk, often it’s only 18” or so wide.
We spent Wednesday touring the Citadel in Victoria, where there are 4 museums. There was a lot on construction going on, and we weaved our way through the construction zones, earthmovers and all. Compare the photo above of the hallway outside one of the museums, where the public freely walks, to U.S. safety requirements. “Watch where you’re walking my darling!”
Ta’Nona. Seemed to have some British regulars.
The couple of times we did eat out, we did so at this cozy bar/eatery. The cuisine of Malta is heavily influenced by Italy – pasta, pizza and local fish. The pizza we had was great – thin crust. In addition to the toppings common in the U.S., their list includes capers, seafood, and slices of boiled eggs. Unfortunately their sausage translates into those little canned finger sausages -euwww.
View from our Xlendi Bay apartment. Thanks, Gozo Joe. Ta’Nona is at the lower edge of the image. If we would have had one more day here, I would have scrambled to the top of this ridge. I’ve read that it’s possible – there’s a ‘ghost’ staircase. Not Dave’s cup of tea.
Yes, a live owl on his shoulder.
We didn’t stick around and stare, but if it’s like Greece, this family of 3 will squeeze on the bike and scoot on home.
One, OK. Two (and more?) electric “windmills” hooked up outdoors – and we’ve got at pattern. I’m tight, but they’ve got some real frugal individuals on this island.:-)
Grocery store in Munxar (mung-schar), about a 20 minute walk from apartment, which I did two mornings. Tip if you’re ever here: bring your produce to the cheese counter to be weighed and priced. Hum.
Classic Toyota in pristine condition. Generally cars were in fine shape, new and old.
OK – a missing door – on an old farm building.
Holy – schmoley! We have a winner. Xewkija Dome church.
Hope you’ve found your perfect pair. Have only seen these in a store – locals are bundled in their heavy coats. (50’s & 60’s daily. Shorts weather in W. WA. ) Laura
Yup – more walking! This day we took the bus to the western edge of the island – Dwejra Point – to see the Azure window. We then walked back to Xlendi Bay. Enjoy! Laura
Sunrise skyBus station in Victoria.When buses pass on a one lane street!(crazy) people were walking along the top of this ‘window’.Working boat houses.Where we came from....where we’re headed.Standing guard on 500 year old Qawra tower.Massive stone quarry, origin of main building material. The island was deforested centuries ago, leaving wood at a premium.Typical, quaint church in the town square.OK, hunters. Bird blind?Local produce. Thanks for following our trip!
Looking back toward Xlendi Bay. Note the absence of litter!!! The islands are gloriously free of it, except for an occasional ‘accidental’ piece (I would guess). The homes, yards and gardens also reflect a very tidy quality.
The only bit of graffiti we’ve seen.Not all rock walls are created equal.
Ahhh… I hear the toot of a ‘market truck” – my name for them. We’ve seen them in Xlendi and neighboring towns. The horn announces the arrival of basically a rolling mini-grocery store. You have to be quick though, they don’t linger in any one spot long.
Moving Mini-market
Modern windmill??Example of a house shell for sale.The island’s main town – Victoria – and it’s citadel in the distance.
In December 2004, Dave & I visited Malta for 3 weeks. We stayed in 2 different places on the main island and had a 4 day stay in Marsalforn on the north coast of Gozo. Though it was rainy and unseasonably cold (so they said), I remember fondly the walks we took through the countryside from town to town. I’ve anticipated these walks on this trip, and thankfully the weather has cooperated. Cloudy mornings skies seem to always clear by midday.
Monday’s walk started in Xlendi Bay where we headed east on a trail through the fields. The islands have been inhabited for over 5ooo years, and I can’t imagine how much work it took to build the rock retaining walls that cover them. The terraces they create are garden/farm lands.
We met a gentleman on the trail who said he had been in bed with a bad back for 3 days – he blamed the bumpy scooter ride! He and his dog Charlie were headed to Munxar – where they do have a grocery store.
Our walk continued along these beautiful south facing cliffs.
Construction challenges with narrow streets! There are many eunfinished homes with for sale signs. It appears as though they build a shell on speculation and the buyer finishes the interior, including windows. It also appears as though no mortar is used between these solid blocks of stone.
Finally, we wound our way through the villages of Sannat and Munxar before looping back to Xlendi Bay. – Laura
A personal shout out to my brother Al (Fritter) for placing first in a professional dog sled race in N. Michigan this last weekend. He ran with 10 dogs (winning time of 4 hr, 28 minutes), and I’m very proud of him. He works hard training these dogs, and I’m sure he’s enjoying the payoff. Way to go Frit!! – Laura
