I wasn’t a fan of Malta, and its not
somewhere I would chose to return to. To be honest, it never recovered from my
first impression - run down. The buildings are weathered and dirty, the roads in
a terrible condition, the air is dusty and polluted and a lot of the people are
over weight/obese and dress horribly.
The purpose of my trip to Malta was 3 weeks
in Palumbo Shipyard. Even though I wasn’t a fan, I was determined to make the
most of my time and hope to find some hidden surprises. On the first weekend
the captain and I went for a drive around the Island. I much preferred Malta
the more rural you go. A natural atmosphere replaced the run down impression,
with greenery in between scattered villages, and I saw glimpses of how Malta
used to look back in the day.
St Julian’s is were all the nightlife is,
and to be fair it’s a decent night out. It reminded me of a club 18 – 30
holiday destination, with streets full of bars and ticket touts standing
outside. On the first couple of nights, we stumbled across a few bars that were
full of ridiculously young looking kids - the place felt like a school disco.
Fortunately we soon learnt where these bars were and avoided them. I found my
drinking ban hard, and it crossed my mind to give in, but I thought quitting
after 2 months was not good enough - I would never forgive myself if I gave in then
something happened that I would have to live the rest of my life with the
consequences.
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Kim and I went on a harbor tour. This
amused Rob. He thought it was a very touristy thing to do and didn’t understand
why we wanted to go on a harbor tour when we work on a boat. I really enjoyed
the tour, and Malta looks much nicer from the sea, than it does on land.
Towards the end of the cruise, I mentioned to, Kim that may be I was being a
bit harsh on Malta, but a soon as we got back on land, the run down impression came
flooding back.
Gozo, is only a short ferry ride away, so
Alistair, Emily, Kim and I went on a day trip.
As Gozo is a holiday destination, I was expecting a bit more, but again
I was left disappointed. Dwejra Bay and a snickers cake saved the day for me. Dwejra
Bay is to the west of the Island, and the last place we visited. The appeal for
me was the rough weather. I enjoyed the waves crashing against the rugged coastline
and loved watching nature’s power.
The best day out was at Badger Go Karting.
To make sure the karts were up to scratch, Alastair, Emily, Rob, and I tested
it out then returned with Kim and the crew from Lady M (another boat in the
shipyard). We had 5 minutes of
qualifying, followed by a 15 minutes race. The first few laps of the race were
insane. Apart from the eventual winner, who ran away with it, and lead from
start to finish, the rest of the pack jostled for position. We were all
bumping, spinning, slipping and sliding – it was great fun.
I had a good time in Malta, but that was
down to the people I was with and making the most of it. I’m glad my visit was
for work and not a holiday, as I would have been left gutted.
