Melting in Malta: Mellieha

the plan to visit malta came about when i found out that our family lawyer - a friend of my college friend - just moved there. she diligently helped us on my son's case and i really wanted to personally meet her and thank her.

the small country, while pretty dense for its size, doesn't get a lot of love from tourists. thanks to game of thrones, the country became a subject of curiosity and more visitors had been visiting steadily. since i've planned to visit with lovro, i knew that we couldn't do much and allocated only 6 days. but after that trip, i realized that was a mistake. there was so much to see and do in malta that we could have easily taken 2 weeks. 6 days felt quite rushed, especially with my limited mobility, my 4 year old and that wicked summer sun. nevertheless, we made the most out of it.

Mellieha

our first stop was in mellieha. i wanted to take lovro to see the popeye village and so i decided to stay close by, and based on what i've found online, this town has a beautiful coastline and is famous for its beaches. just a short bus ride to cirkewwa and a ferry ride away from there is the popular blue lagoon, a spot in comino island just off the coast that is known for its azure-colored water. we arrived in the afternoon and i have arranged for an airport pick-up with the owner of the apartment. the driver announced that it was 42 degrees outside and as we drove by i couldn't help but notice that the land was barren. there were hilly views but they're mostly brown from lack of vegetation, and trees were few and short. the apartment owner greeted us and explained all we needed to know about our stay, and his living room was filled with a million flyers of things to do all over malta. it was perfect because i have not really prepared much for this trip and was thinking to just wing it.

summer days are long, and lovro did not want to nap, so after a bit of rest we decided to explore the area. i was told of a playground nearby, and thought the little one could use a bit of playtime. it will be two blocks away, he said, after the church. what he didn't explain was how beautiful the facade and courtyard of this church was! it was the sanctuary of our lady of mellieħa.

when you exit the church patio, the beautiful coastal view awaits. like a wonderful surprise. and at the end of the road, next to the cemetery, we finally spot the playground. a playground with a view, at that!

that evening we had a dinner date with Catherine, and i booked a table at the second highest-rated restaurant in TripAdvisor, Rebekah's. i had the chef special of traditional maltese rabbit dish. food was great, and the company better.

Comino Cruise

when i spoke to our host about a plan to spend the whole day in popeye village, his immediate response was NO. he figured the 'park' is too small to spend a whole day at, and suggested that we go only in the late afternoon. the heat would also not make it enjoyable for lovro, he stressed. so in the morning i've decided why not take a cruise to comino (or anywhere, really) to see what the whole blue lagoon buzz was all about. i was preparing breakfast when the couple occupying the other room in the apartment came around and we chat for a bit. they were heading to cirkewwa that morning, and offered to take us there since they rented a car. there was a comino ferries co-op booth and the boat ride costed only about 9 euros round-trip so we opted for it. 

the blue lagoon looked great in the flyer photos but even more amazing to see with your own eyes. 

the beach was of course packed with tourists, but that was expected for such a beautiful place in the height of summer. and for 9 euros to get there, i can't really complain. i initially thought of not even having to leave the boat and just cruise back immediately, as i wasn't sure if lovro was going to like it. but he did, and he himself asked that we get off and hang out by the beach and eat some fries. 

it was scorching hot by the time we had to leave, but we needed to go back to the apartment as we had a date for our next agenda for the day.

Popeye Village

Catherine agreed to join us for this trip. she said she's always wanted to go there but it didn't seem fun to go without bringing a kid along. popeye village is actually the film set of the 1980 musical which was converted to a theme park and became a major tourist attraction in malta. initially our host said that if we visit late in the afternoon we only pay half the price. but that was not the case - we still paid 17 euros. maybe for locals?

we arrived around 4, and the village closes at 7. luckily it's small enough that we didn't feel rushed and still managed to see almost everything. we could've taken it slower though, but with the sun melting us away, that wouldn't have been so fun either. 

there was a floating playground but i believe you'd have to pay extra to go there. we weren't prepared to get soaked though - i didn't bring swimsuit. plus, lovro the scaredy cat didn't want to go there. 

we saved the best for last. we went for a boat ride which gave visitors a good view of the village from the sea. also, anchor bay is really beautiful. the boat ride is included in the entry ticket.

we managed to be out the door just as they've announced that the village is about to close. we took some more photos of the magnificent village before we headed to the bus stop, only to realize that the bus will take 20 minutes to arrive. luckily, a guy driving a coach passed by and asked people where they'd be going. he took a few of us who were probably going towards the same direction and charged us 2 euros each. in the philippines, we call this kind of transport agreement as "colorum". interesting to see this exists in this more ancient side of the world too. 😆

bye bye popeye village