Today was another overcast, windy day. We did have a wee bit of rain, but nothing significant, unfortunately for the farmers. The temperature was in the low-to-mid 60s again.
We had a morning walk and an evening walk. Christine spent the afternoon working and had a successful GoToMeeting with her main customer. It’s a huge relief that the G2M functions well and that our internet in the flat seems reliable most of the time.
Today was a “we love the sea” day, so many of the photos and videos today will be of the sea. We love our view and spend a great deal of time just looking out the balcony doorway at the bay. But when we can walk along the sea and be close to the waves, we’re in heaven.
Our morning walk was seaside down below the promenade. There are walkways all along the sea edge, sometimes on the limestone, and sometimes on pathways. With the surf churning this morning, one had to be cautious not to be in the wrong place at the wrong time when a big swell hit the shoreline.
From the photo on the left above the video, the farthest point is Exile Point. The shoreline then goes around that point and to the right and you can walk a long way below the promenade. Exile Point is the end of St. Julian’s Bay. I think it might be the windiest spot in our area. Once you go around that point, you’re no longer in the shelter of a bay, but rather exposed directly to the Mediterranean and the wind. Here’s a little video taken from the bay side of Exile Point.
It was so windy, and threatening rain, that we decided to go up to the promenade and cut back through Sliema to get home. Christine wanted to check out the location of some hostels as a reference in case we need to refer visitors to housing options. And as we walk the streets, my head turns all the time as I see things I like.
We did find Hostel Jones in an area called Dingli Circus, which is just a little circular intersection. Interestingly, Christine’s cousin Carol lives right across the street from the hostel. The hostel is in a beautiful old building. We took a tour of the place given by a very nice guy. Some of the architectural detail remains, especially the beautiful tile floors. The hostel offers 3, 4, 6, and 8-bed dorm rooms and it does have a private room available. It seems as though the hostel is full most of the time. Kind of a funky place, but it looked inviting and homey, with shared kitchen, back courtyard and a rooftop terrace.
We stopped in another mini market on the way home. Although we’re quite pleased with the selection of food in our market, we haven’t found where to buy household items. We need a few things to improve the flat, like a little laundry basket, nightlights, drink coasters, a small folding table (like a TV tray table), and a small cutting board. These neighborhood markets don’t carry stuff like this, for the most part. We did find a laundry basket in the one we stopped in today, so we carried that home.
Christine spent the afternoon working and I read. Then after her G2M, we went out for another walk along the seaside. We retraced our walk from the morning, but then, since the wind had subsided considerable, we rounded Exile Point and walked on the limestone all the way past the Surfside restaurant. It was a beautiful walk. Although it was a little overcast, it was still a perfect evening for a stroll. The limestone is magical and often looks like sand.
All along this section, we could see the remnants of old salt pans, hollowed out circles and squares in the limestone where, in Medieval times, the people attempted to capture seawater, let it evaporate, and collect the remaining salt crystals. Salt was like gold, then, and was used for preserving food. However, the sea in this area was too turbulent so this was abandoned here. We’ll see great big salt pans in current use on some of our other island adventures.
We also came across an area where there were deep little bathing pools cut out of the rock. This area is known as Font Ghadira Bay. Here, in Victorian times, these square bathing pools were created and then covered by wooden “houses” so the Victorian ladies could bathe in the sea and be protected from oglers. This, today, is a very popular place to swim as you can submerge in the many little “bathtub” pools.
Here’s a little video from our evening walk.
We did have one moment of trepidation when the limestone became hilly around a wide, deep crevice, and our path was across a very slanted, narrow, ledge. I went across and was very challenged to do so. Christine retreated and found another route across flatter terrain. She had to go down into a narrower crevice and back up, but made it just fine. All the time, she had to keep her eye on the surf because it comes up pretty far on the limestone. But we were able to keep dry and make our way to steps up to the promenade. It was a wonderful walk and a nice adventure that I’m sure we’ll repeat.
It just so happened that we got back on the promenade near a pastizzi stand, so we rewarded ourselves with cheese pastizzi. Yum! It was getting dark and starting to rain a little, so we decided to take the bus back around the front to our flat. But, the bus was too full and the driver wouldn’t let anyone else on the bus. Traffic was also backed up along Tower Road, so we decided to hoof it back to the flat. Amazingly, our route was direct and we didn’t make a wrong turn once. So in about 15 minutes, we were back at the flat.
Again, a nice day. Time for play and time for work.