And this was only a medium!

Sunday found us on many modes of transportation:

1) An early bus (6:40) to the airport allowed us time for a coffee (!) and snack.      2) A full, and uneventful flight to Madrid on Ryanair.       3) An airport bus from terminal 1 to terminal 4,       4) where we caught a train to the main train station downtown Madrid.      5)A reserved seat on the high speed train to Malaga, on Spain’s southern coast.  Dave’s eyes widened when we topped out at 199 MPH!!! (not a typo). The most comfortable ride ever,  NO roads crossed these tracks.     6) Finally, a 43 minute ride on a commuter train from Malaga found us in our destination – Fuengirola!  Two blocks from the train station we found our apartment (at 7:30 p.m.) minus internet:-(  Our host seems slow to fix it. Otherwise, a delightful home.

What are the odds we would be there when the art came to life…Appropriately made out of limestone, as is most every building on the islands.

Seems the skies are so dramatic here.  Near sunset they cast some beautiful light.

Never far from sweets!

The Maltese are all about the ‘love locks’, where sweethearts fasten a lock on a bridge symbolizing their love .

More happy dogs!  till next time. – Laura

Our wanderings Tuesday brought us to the Dingli Cliffs on the SW edge of Malta.  Perfect spot for a radar installation.Here’s where those giant squash came from! Young ladies from France, waiting for a bus and having Dave (and me!) take their picture.The edge of a cliff – odd place to put a church.Again we’re racing the sun, and wander into Rabat to catch a bus very near dark.  – Laura

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

It’s a slow day in Bugibba (boo-gee-ba) when Laura’s doing a food posting.  Cool and blustery weather persists.  When it does break, we’re going to bolt toward the cliffs on the s.w. edge of the island for some awesome hikes.  Meanwhile…

Fast food, Malta style.  These hot cases contain take-away food that includes pizza, lasagna, and other pasta and savory pastry dishes.  Have only tried the pizza (OK) and the pea pastry.

You know you’re getting close to one of these shops when you meet people walking and eating from white bakery bags… 🙂 comparable to U.S. drivers eating burgers & fries while driving.

A dish unique to Malta (I think) is their pea pastry.  All are not created equal – purchased from different shops (35¢ each), the near one had some nice spice added to the peas, and was crispier.  Nothing from these shops is healthy (duh!)- very greasy, and all carbs!

 Vegetarians, look away.

A delightful surprise at the grocery are the smoked pork products .  Way reasonably priced (at 2.2 lbs to the kilo, around $3 a pound) and tasty, and perfect for breakfast.

I can’t give the monkey-face “ham” (bologna?) a review, but it could be a fun to go at with a mustard bottle.

Yes!! Some real syrup from Canada.

Lots of olive choices in the deli –  pepper flakes, garlic, or ‘seafood” – tuna and anchovies mixed in.

Well – that’s all for now.  Dave’s taking me out to a nice Italian restaurant.  A break in the weather would be good for my diet 🙂 – Laura

Car dealers and gas stations are tucked right in along with retail.

No need to pull INTO a gas station, just pull over to the curb.  They pump. – Laura