Week 11: Malta livin'

I found returning to Malta quite hard as I had such a fun and busy time catching up on what I had missed. However the weather made up for it as it is now starting to really heat up, meaning there will be lots more visits to the beach this term which of course is also an excuse for some ice-cream!

One of my friends, Clodagh also made the trip out to visit me which also made the process of getting settled back into Maltese life a lot easier! I am really excited as Rachel and myself have lots of visitors coming out throughout the rest of time we have left in Malta which should take away any home sickness we have. Once again I embraced the role of a tour guide and showed Clodagh around some of the sites Malta has to offer. First on her list to see was St Paul’s island. Using my previous knowledge from the hike we did around St Paul’s Island we walked around several bays to get amazing views. This made me appreciate the effort Ray (the organiser of the hikes) puts in by offering to take all the residents around areas of the island they probably wouldn't have found out about otherwise.

St Paul's Island

The Grand Master's Palace in Valletta

Couldn't go without a trip to Fontenalla and
tasting their famous cakes!

First time trying macaroons!

An impressive flower shaped ice-cream

One of my highlights of Clodagh being here was when we were in Gozo. We had rented out bikes and cycled to the Azure Window were we got taken out in a boat around the window and through caves in the surrounding area. As Clodagh studies geography and we both did it together at A-Level it was cool to relive our school memories and learn more. We also made the brave decision to jump into the water beside the Azure Window and swim about in it, although not for too long as I had no idea what was in the water and feared a shark coming in and circling me, which wasn't too far-fetched as I researched whether or not sharks could be found in the waters around Malta when I got home and came across this article (http://www.timesofmalta.com/articles/view/20140609/local/shark-circles-fishing-boat-off-gozo.522631) which shows a video of a large shark circling a boat 5 miles of the coast of Gozo, despite comments saying that sharks rarely come into shore I don’t think I’ll be as quick to jump into unknown water again!

Tired after a long day cycling

Enjoying sunsets and views in Gozo

Swimming beside the Azure Window, no sharks can be
seen, thankfully!!