We have recently returned from another little foray. On this occasion we went to Malta and what can I say? Flying again after all this time- it was almost a new experience but bit by bit the memories return: the queues; the waiting; the cramped airline seats; the appalling range of over priced and undertasting snacks; those passengers at the various airport checks with the wrong documentation. I could go on but, discomfort and all, it was quite simply great to be able to do it again.
Malta too was a new to us destination. Another place that we had cancelled our planned visit to, back in 2020. A home from home in ways that I had not expected; well it always makes crossing the road easier when the traffic drives on the left, not to mention finding a post box when it's red!
Staying in Valletta, we wandered to our limits finding the light, history and architecture very much to our pleasing; an urban photographer's paradise, even in the rain. We also had easy access to local buses, able to travel to almost anywhere on the island within 30 to 40 minutes.
Unique for us, however, was the fact that people, local or travelling, were much younger than we have become accustomed to. Indeed, regularly eschewing city centres, we'd almost convinced ourselves that the world these days is full of over sixties on the move or inhabiting coffee shops. The generation with time in heaps to devote to leisure activities. Perhaps those steps in Valletta put older tourists off. A quick check on the Internet, however, suggested that Malta now has one of the youngest populations in Europe. It certainly creates a vitality and vibrancy than we had not anticipated but thoroughly absorbed.
Out of season, we assume we avoided the worst of the crowds but although the sun shone intermittently, the rain also came down in torrents and the sea state prevented any coastal hopping as well as our planned trip to Gozo. We were well prepared with waterproofs and returned relatively unscathed (another new experience, at least compared to our last trip), unless the unexpected mosquito bite necessitating two trips to a local pharmacy counts! The rain obviously put a little damper on the visit but it was much, much warmer than the stuff that pours from UK skies.
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