Xmas in Malta

Writing on the There's a World To See blog, the author writes about a Xmas vacation in "stunning" Malta:

Well, I guess this is the first official ‘travel’ blog. Malta is a beautiful country, and I would highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in history, quiet rural areas, beautiful scenery, friendly people, or small Mediterranean islands. We did a lot in the 10 days we had in Malta, and it’s hard to believe there is so much more that we weren’t able to see, given how small the country is..

The view can hardly be described – during the day we were looking out over a lush green valley right down into Ramla Bay, a nice sandy beach right on the wide expanse of Sea. At night the lights from Sicily were visible. You can imagine how perfect a setting this would be – at least in the summer. You see, the problem with Malta is that it’s hot almost all the time, except for about two months in the winter – the time when we were there. And since it’s always hot, there’s no need for heating, right? The houses are all made entirely of stone and tile, and there’s absolutely no insulation, and so at night (and during the day, really), it’s freezing inside!..

We spent most of the time on Gozo exploring the rich history and beautiful scenes. One day we hired bikes and rode along the coast for a while, discovering a stunning seascape and caves carved into cliffs. We walked through the Ggantija temples which are the oldest freestanding man-made structures in the world, built around 3600-2500BC. In Victoria, the largest city, we explored the citadel, ate pizza in tiny cafes, and perused small side-street markets...and saw saltpans, a lighthouse, a helicopter from the Italian air force trying to land yards from where we stood, churches and town squares, secluded inlets, watch towers, and resort towns..

On Christmas Eve we followed a procession from the local football club through the town square to the church, and it was a cross between the Santa Claus parade and the Christmas Pagents we did at church, complete with wisemen and sheep and Mary and Joseph and most importantly the crib. I missed my own little tradition of spending the day with my church family, and remembering and celebrating the real reason for Christmas. Most of the time I forgot that it was Christmas, though, even despite the Christmas music being blared through every town square, seemingly all tapped into the same endless playlist of Boney M and Bing Crosby and last Christmas I gave you my heart, but the very next day you gave it away...

Sharon Buttrey's Malta Photos