It’s very hard to believe that our time in Malta is nearly at an end. Neither of us wants to leave, and yet we’re both anxious to get home. Now that the temperatures are getting in to the 90s on a daily basis, the very hot, humid weather is draining and I don’t like it much. I’m glad we’re leaving before the hottest of the summer months, July and August.
We’re spending our last couple of days just enjoying things that we’ve done and being rather nostalgic about our adventure in Malta. Both Saturday and Sunday evening we strolled along the esplanade in the late evening. Sunday evening was very warm and there were loads of people out walking. I love walking by benches full of older Maltese folk who are loudly talking, loudly being the operative word, with their neighbors and friends. When we went out it was nearly 10:00 p.m. and the esplanade was jammed with people. I think the Maltese don’t want the weekend to end and so they squeeze out the last drops of the weekend well in to late Sunday evening. The restaurants were still full with people having a late dinner and lingering over a drink. And every bar and restaurant has the Euro 2016 football tournament on and so you can hear cheering all around the bay when there is a score.
St. Julian’s Bay is really pretty at night with all it’s lights. It all seems so familiar now and we love hanging over the esplanade railing just looking out across the bay and drinking in the atmosphere and the beauty of the night and listening to the water lap along the shoreline.
Monday morning was another gorgeous day. Other than the freak thunderstorm we experienced on Friday, the weather has just been grand. The wind died down after the first month and a half, so pegging up our laundry on the roof has become a mundane chore, not a thrilling job requiring tremendous dexterity and timing to prevent our undies from flying all over the neighborhood in 30 mph winds. And have I mentioned what a great view we have from our balcony???
Hard not to love looking at that. And here’s our little home away from home.

We’ve gotten so used to our little flat. Despite the issues encountered, it’s been a great place to stay. The one downside is the traffic noise. The building is on the busiest street in Sliema. I’ve written an email to the Sliema Local Council about the problem of motorcycle and sports car noise pollution. The stretch in front of our building seems to be the favorite area for revving engines, peeling tires and overdrive screaming. I suggested a police presence in this area to curb some of the horrendous noise that comes from idiots who just have to speed down the street. I haven’t gotten a reply (surprised??).
We went to visit Mary Caruana again on Monday. Our first visit was such a fantastic experience and she seemed so happy that we visited. Our first visit we had taken some photos on an iPad to show her – family photos that Christine had – but Mary kept touching the screen and the photos kept closing. So that wasn’t a good way for Mary to view the photos. Christine has spent a good amount of time over the last week or two making sheets of photos with notes written in large font to give to Mary. So we went to see her again. No drama about getting to the right ward this time around.
Mary remembered us and was happy to see us, although we thought she was just a bit less sharp today. She seemed to perseverate quite a bit (repetitive comments and sounds) and just seemed more anxious. The nursing officer we talked with said that she has refused to take some medication that would help these symptoms. We also asked the nurse whether or not hearing aids could be obtained. He said that this was being discussed but that he thought she would probably refuse them. It is a shame because having a conversation with her is nearly impossible due to her deafness. We had written a list of questions so Mary could read the question and then answer. The questions were designed so that we could learn more about her upbringing and life.
Mary was orphaned at age 5, both parents having died from TB at very young ages, her father was 27 and her mother was 24. She lived in a home run by nuns in Valletta until the age of 18, however, she did maintain a relationship with her parents’ parents during that time and after leaving the home, she became an important part of the family, caring for both the young and the old. It was interesting listening to her talk about her life and she seemed to be quite happy with her life and was proud of her caretaking role. But she did manage to have a full life of her own with friends, travel, reading, singing and playing the piano. After all, she is a Gemini whose god is Mercury, the god of communication. I think it is interesting that she is very much into astrology. She talked also a great deal of how good a friend Rose, Christine’s mother, was and what fun they had together.
We did obtain the name and phone number for the person who takes care of Mary’s affairs. Christine called her and we will be meeting her on Tuesday. Now that we’ve met Mary, we wish to keep updated on her condition. We can pass on to Louis in Australia information about Mary. And, Lou, Mary asked that she be remembered to you again and sends you her love.
Later in the afternoon, we went around the rocks to the sea side (shade from the shadow of the esplanade wall) and went swimming. As Christine describes it, the water was “delicious.” And after our travels in the hot weather today, the water felt especially good. We spent a long time sitting and watching all the boat activity. Where we were sitting, we could watch scores and scores of boats heading back to marinas in the creeks around Marsamxett and Grand harbors. We’re going to miss all this, but watching all the boats go round Geneganslet Lake is pretty nice, too!
Monday evening Italy won its Euro 2016 match against Spain in the Round of 16, advancing to the quarterfinals. It was bedlam out on Tower Road with cars honking full of Italy flag-waving people cheering which went on for what seemed like hours. Malta is only about 50 miles from Sicily and its ties to Italy are pretty strong.
We’re working on our transition back to our “normal” life. But we’re somewhat stressed by all the packing ahead and cleaning out the apartment. We learned that Air Malta, the carrier for our first travel leg, has severe restrictions on luggage size and weight, so we’re in a big quandary about what to do. We’ve already shipped home a box weighing 28 pounds. The weight restriction is 44 pounds (20 kg) for checked bags, and we’re used to U.S. baggage weights of 50 pounds. Also, Air Malta has size and weight restrictions for carry-on bags, and we’re no where near those restrictions. So, we’ll need to figure out what our most strategic packing method should be to reduce as much as possible the extra weight fees we’re going to have to pay Ugh! This stuff is very stressful. And of course, we brought way too much stuff to begin with, and have added to it. When will we ever learn to pack light?
So, we’re down to two days left in Malta, and they will be busy days getting prepared for our trip home.
My advice is to leave as much clothes and stuff as you can. It can all be replaced. (bring gifts of course!)