After leaving Marsaskala, we hiked south along these beautiful  cliffs.

Malta truly is a happy place.

Looking back at St. Thomas Bay.   We still haven’t figured out what the blocks attached to the posts/rods are for.  We asked on our last visit (10 years ago) and were told they are bird traps.  We’ve never seen anything on top of the blocks, so maybe (hopefully) they’re not used anymore.  Either way, we couldn’t figure them out.

Old and new.  Looking at the port across Ramla Ta’ Birzebugga, which translates to “Pretty Bay”.

Dave found a would-be souvenir, but I reminded him our storage units were full. – Laura

As in Italy, there is a bit of a stray cat population.  Just this morning we ran into a gentleman who was setting out a dinner plate full of cat food – “Breakfast time!”.  They all look healthy and well fed.

Some  locals even spend time creating and maintaining kitty condos, though I’ve never seen one occupied.

And if you’re a real cat lover, you take the time to level out their water dish.  🙂 – Laura

Tuesday found us in the colorful fishing town of Marsaxlokk on the SE edge of the island.  These beautiful wooden boats, locally called  luzzos, are still used by fishermen.

Note they all have “eyes” in the front –  here in the white band.  A Phoenician tradition, these represent the eye of Osiris, the Egyptian god of the underworld, and are said to protect against evil spirits of the deep.

Dave’s query as to the type of wood the boats are built of  was answered with “iroko”.   We’ve since found this is a hardwood tree from the west coast of tropical Africa, and, though it is not in the teak family, is sometimes referred to as African Teak.

The waterfront and street are  lined with cafes and street vendors.  We had a nice squid spaghetti, and a not so good burger.

It doesn’t get better than this.

Well, maybe it does.  Taking a break. – Laura

Got out for a hike Sunday.  Lots of commercial greenhouses and farms,  so we tried to identify some of the  fruits & vegetables that grow on the island.

Artichokes. Who knew.

We peeked but didn’t pick – strawberries.

Vineyards – of course.  The local wine takes up a lot of shelf space in the stores, and is on every restaurant wine list.  Also in stores are wines from Italian, South America (mostly Chile), and Australia.  Not too many American.

Cherry tomatoes.  Also saw a greenhouse where Roma tomato plants were supported/wired up,  and about  8+ feet tall.

Seen next to one of the produce trucks that regularly set up on given street corners.  They will slice out as big or small a wedge as you want.

Guessing zucchini, which we see a lot of in the market. Light green skin.

OK – enough of the boring plants!

We were being watched.

Dave – trying to blend in 🙂 Since I had the camera, and have shorter legs, I’d often round a corner to find him patiently waiting for me to catch up.  The plaque above his head is the name of the home.  Even in town, every house has a name, usually religious in nature. This one was an exception –  “Wild Thyme”.  Also, looks can be deceiving.  This may look like a pretty boring house from the outside, but we’ve seen enough real estate fliers to know that they can be very elegant and modern inside.

Squeezing by.  For whatever reason, motorcycles & scooters are not as popular here as they are in Spain.  Also, would not recommend Malta as a biking destination, as shoulders are non-existent.

She was so proud of her horse!

Even small towns have large, beautiful churches.

Not positive who “Me” is – my guess is a hedgehog.  Have  only seen one squashed and it was much too small for a porcupine.

At the end of a delightful scramble up the hill!  It was a relief to find this short cut and get off the road, in addition to saving  the steps.  Note the long shadows.  We ended up catching a bus  for the last few miles home, as dusk caught up with us.  All in all, a very nice day. – Laura