Category: 2018-H) July August Canary Islands, Morocco, Malta

Malta, officially known as the Republic of Malta, is a Southern European island country consisting of an archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea. It lies 80 km south of Italy. Malta is one of the world’s smallest and most densely populated countries, at over 316 km² with a population of about 475,000. Its capital is Valletta, which is the smallest national capital in the European Union by area at 0.8 km. Its largest town is Birkirkara, while its chief economic centre is Sliema. The official languages are Maltese and English, with Maltese also recognised as the national language.

Flag of Malta

Malta has an array of things to discover. And no matter where you go, the scenery and architecture provide a spectacular backdrop. The colours are striking, with the honey-coloured stone of the buildings against the deepest of Mediterranean blues, just beautiful. Valetta and the three cities are stunning as they are surrounded by a beautiful harbour. We stayed in the city of Birgu in a wonderful Airbnb right on the Harbour. The city had a nice town square with some beautiful old homes with cobble streets. There is an area on the harbour that was designated for swimming, it was great to have a swim after a day of sightseeing. It was interesting to see how  families would come to the swimming area in the evening time or to the town square, to socialise or just catch up on day to day living.

View from our Airbnb in Birgu

Harbour of Birgu

Valetta

Amazing storm that came through Valetta

Valetta Harbour

A tribute to all the fallen soldiers

Behind the Green door

Interesting Sculptures throughout Valetta

View from the upper Barrakka Gardens on Valetta

Church of St Publius Valetta

Traveling by ferry or motorised Gondola is a great cheap and wonderful way to travel in and around Malta. What is unique about Malta is that so much of the past is visible today. It is steeped in History, you can retrace the footsteps of St. Paul or see where the Knights of St. John fought their most famous battles. St Johns Co Cathedral is one of the best and most interesting we have seen, although plain on the outside, it is very beautiful inside. From Valetta you can see great views over to the three cities Birgu, Senglea and Cospicua from the Upper and lower Barrakka Gardens. On Birgu the oldest of the three cities we bought a ticket for 13 euro each, that got us into, the Forth St Angelo, Malta Maritime museum, and Inquisitors palace the only one left in Europe with public access. All very interesting.

We spent a morning at the small but picturesque fishing village of Marsaxlokk and an afternoon at the blue grotto. The blue grotto is several sea caverns on the south east coast of Malta. It was lovely to have a swim here.

Fishing village of Marsaxlokk very quaint

Blue Grotto

If this were not enough, there are two other islands – Gozo and Comino that boast wonderful water sports, and a more relaxed atmosphere. In Gozo we stayed at Xlendi beach village, it is a  small place but perfect for a few days. We did a great boat trip out around the Gozo coastline stopping at places like blue hole, Dwejra Bay where we had a swim and snorkel it was divine.

Gozo

Xlendi on Gozo our second Airbnb accomadation

Boat trip around the coastline of Gozo

Dwejra Bay our swimming spot

From Gozo we took a day trip to the Blue Lagoon which is on Camino island, beautiful but too many tourists this time of year, we walked around to the side of the island for a swim as it was a much nicer spot with a lot less people.

Blue Lagoon

We have had a great 10 days in Malta 5 days in Birgu and 5 days in Gozo, Malta is a place that Martin and I said we could happily live, especially if we had a place on the harbour of Birgu or the Harbour of Valletta.

Panorama a Great Bar and Restaurant in Valetta

 

The Kingdom of Morocco, is a sovereign state located in Northwest Africa. Morocco is characterised by a rugged mountainous interior, large tracts of desert and a lengthy coastline along the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Population: 35.74 million (2017) Language Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often used for business, government, and diplomacy, Currency used is Moroccan dirham

Moroccan Flag

We knew Morocco was going to be very hot this time of year, so we decided to spend some of our time in the quaint village of Imlil in the Atlas Mountains. It is 1,800 metres above sea level. The settlement offers stunning views over the valley and of Toubkal, the highest peak in Morocco. The drive to Imlil was interesting to say the least but as always Martin took it in his stride. The forests that surround the village are walnut groves,  walnut, apple, and cherry harvesting has been the primary economy through the years, but in recent years the tourism trade has become the main source of income for Imlil. Not only do foreign visitors come to the mountains, but so do other residents of Morocco who want to escape the heat. It was at least 10 to 15 degrees cooler here than in Marrakech.  We stayed in a wonderful raid on the side of a mountain, we needed donkeys to bring our luggage up the last 700 meters as it was too steep for cars to drive. We enjoyed simply sitting back and relaxing on one of the roof terraces while sipping some Moroccan mint tea and enjoying the landscape! We also did a small hike out to the Imlil waterfalls and the surrounding area. We had a few wild storms when we were here, it looked amazing across the mountains. We met two ultra-marathon runners they stayed in the same accommodation, both were training for Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc (also referred to as UTMB) is a single-stage mountain ultramarathon. approximately 166 kilometres. They were a very interesting couple and wow 166 kilometres I cannot imagine doing this, it kills me to run 5 Kilometres.

View from our accommodation in Imlil the Atlas Mountains

Imlil waterfalls

Accommodation and Donkey transport

After 3 nights we headed to Marrakech we stayed in the old city of Marrakesh, or “medina” is separated from the rest of the city (the Gueliz) by a brick wall that spans about 20 kilometres and has 14 entrances. this was a common setup for Arab cities at the time and provided protection much like the castles did for villages in Europe. It’s still where the action is in Marrakesh and the pace inside the walls is intense. We stayed close to the hectic main square of the Jemaa el Fna with its winding souks (market) of spices, carpets, leather, and pottery and were your senses are bedazzled in every way with snake charmers, vendors selling street food and everything else plus some interesting artists. But Marrakech is also a buzzing modern city, with an increasingly happening culture. Hot summers can be bearable as there are lots of green spaces, the well maintained Gardens flourish and offer blissfully cool and tranquil escapes from the dust and chaos of the city.

Kotubia Mosque and the Markets (souks)

Jemaa el Fna

Walled Medina and Martin having a coffee uptown

Bahia Palace in the media plus a wonderful sculpture made from old wheels

Cyber Park Marrakech

Beautiful courtyards in Marrakech

We had a wonderful time in Morocco, thanks to my good friend Lorraine for all the great tips.

The Canary Islands is a Spanish archipelago and the southernmost autonomous community of Spain located in the Atlantic Ocean, 100 kilometres west of Morocco at the closest point.

Flag of the Canary Islands

Looming volcanoes, prehistoric sites, sandy coves and miles of Sahara-style dunes. We spent most of our time on Fuerteventura’s with it endless plains, punctuated by cacti, scrub and lots of goats. The Canary Islands has near-perfect year-round temperatures, which means whether it’s summer or winter you can enjoy You can pump up the adrenalin by riding the wind and the waves – kitesurfing, windsurfing and surfing are all big here or slow down the pace with camel rides, rounds of golf, horse treks and boat rides. If your idea of a perfect holiday is that enticing combo of R&R, you’re in the right place.There’s also a tidal wave of ocean-front bars where you can enjoy a cocktail at sunset while contemplating the gently lapping sea.

The last three weeks we spent holidaying from our travels. We have been relaxing in the Canary Islands with some great friends, Nicki, Ian, Anita, Gary, and their wonderful families. Both couples spent a year in Australia back in the nineties and what fun we had, so it was great to spend time with them again. Nicki was celebrating a big Birthday so we surprised her by joining them on their family summer break. The surprise went really well and Nicki was delighted to see us.

Costa Calma where we spent our first few days on the island

Corralejo where we spent 3 weeks with friends

A day at the water slide park with the children, we all had a great day

My favourite coffee shop

View from our Airbnb

Sand dunes and water sports

The holiday was perfect, relaxing by the sea, eating, drinking with great company. What more could we ask for. Feeling refreshed and ready to go again.