Number 40: The first time to Malta and time with family.

Unique wooden and stone balconies of Malta in Valletta.

After leaving Sicily and crossing to Malta on a late night ferry we have been with my cousins Bruce and Cathy. 

I have appreciated time with them, getting to know them better and seeing Malta through the lens of residents.

Number 40:

The first time to Malta and time with family.

We:

• Were hosted so graciously by Bruce and Cathy at their Sky Villa in Ta’ XBiex.
• Swam lengths in their 9^thfloor pool with views across the harbor to Valletta and bobbed in the Mediterranean Sea at Golden Bay.
• Played scrabble on the patio, G&T in hand, enjoying the cool of the evening, watching the impressive fireworks over the horizon.
• Had a delicious braai, Bruce showing that he has not lost his basic South African skills.
• Talked and laughed and shared family stories over coffee, beer and wine. And even funnier was Bruce imagining that his half bottle of beer had been whipped away by the waiter which certainly got Fred going!
• Marveled at the Caravaggio paintings at St John’s Co-Cathedral and took the 2-hour tour of this extravagant cathedral of the Knights of St John.

  

  Awe inspiring detail of St John's Co-Cathedral, over a hectare of restored gold leaf surfaces.

• Ambled around Valletta, took in the town and the views across to the Three Cities.
• Walked Roman Roads and mysterious ‘cart tracks’ at Xemxija.
• Stood at the zinc counter inside the iconic Caffe Cordina, dating from 1837, for coffee and pies.
• Bought pretty Mdina glass earrings.

  

  Detail from the Hagar Qim Temple.

• Loved the colour pallete of Malta, golden hues and pops of pastels.
• Noted the fabulous enclosed painted wooden balconies, so unique to Malta.
• Were in awe of man’s story on the island spanning 5000 years and more, as we walked about the Hagar Qim Temples and saw the priceless relics at the National Archaeological Museum, particularly the ‘fat ladies’ from the temple era.
• Got completely tongue-tied trying to pronounce Malti words, a complex Semitic language which includes Arabic, Hebrew and Amharic.
• Appreciated the strategic importance of the location of Malta in the Mediterranean, the depth and importance of the Grand Harbour.

  

  Views from Valletta across the Grand Harbour.

• Road the bus and took a ferry to get around, when not walking of course, or been driven around the island by Bruce.
• Bought delicious pastizzi from sidewalk kiosks, ate Maltese sausages, local cheeses and drank a local cold drink called Kinnie.
• Admired the 17thC watchtowers dotted around the island.
• Delighted in a rural 3 generational kitchen and deli in Dingli called Diar il-Bniet, where Bruce bought us their artisanal honey, so special after having seen the 2000 year old apiaries at Xemxija, and we had delicious tarts made from their farm strawberries for afternoon coffee.
• Peeped into the world behind the austere façades, the Secret Garden at Bacchus in Mdina and a stroll around the gardens of Palazzo Parisio in Naxxar, where Cathy has her bookclub – just a little envious of the setting.
• Strolled around the beautiful walled hilltop city of Mdina, taking in the gracious honey coloured buildings. Another Game of Thrones setting at the main gates!
• Heard sparrows nesting in the huge ramparts of Mdina and have just checked Fred's photo, they are new for my European bird list - Spanish Sparrows.
  

  

  Honey-colored buildings of Mdina.

Kersten's and Wedderburn's at play in Malta.

Number 39: A Caravaggio takes my breath away.

St. John's Co-Cathedral in Valletta, has not one but two Caravaggio paintings in the Oratory. It has been a long time since I queued to see a master. And I did it with excitement.

Number 39:

A Caravaggio takes my breathe away.

A monumental painting, done in 1608, is still completely mesmorising in 2018. 

The subject treated in a non-emotional manner, no angels or haloes in sight. The muted brooding palette in sharp contrast to the red of the cape and of course the chiaroscuro, the dramatic use of a stage-like light. 

Breathtaking and nothing else in the the Co-Cathedral could compete with this painting and the smaller St Jerome. What a privilege.

Beheading of St John the Baptist and St Jerome.

John, when you read this, you were on my mind and I would have loved to share this moment with you!

Number 38: 'X' marks the spot, a day out in Malta

An X marks the tiny islands of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea, just like a treasure map and also like their language which is peppered with x's. Bruce and Cathy floating Sky Villa is located in Ta' Xbiex - try pronounce that or our destination for today, the village of Xemxija!

Number 38:

'X' marks the spot, a day out in Malta.

The Heritage Trail at Xemxija, an X marks the spot on Malta, where people have lived in caves, lived off the land and sea, and carved out burial chambers in the limestone for more than 7 millennia! 

Here Roman history feels recent, we stepped out on a Roman Road bending uphill away from the bay and made our way to Punic-Roman stone-built apiaries over 2000 years old. Even the name Malta, is a nod to honey, Melita, meaning the land of honey I need to go and find some delicious, local honey before we leave.

A 2000 year old apiary!

PS: found a delicious honey on our travels....

A 1000 year old Carob Tree

The treasure map took us past the most famous Carob tree on the Malta, it shades the apiaries and hangs over the Roman Road -  1000 years old, what has this tree seen!

Pilgrim graffiti along the Heritage Trail.

The crosses etched into the walls of these ancient pathways by pilgrims were so poignant.
We finished off our day with the final X marks the spot - one of the top swimming beaches on Malta, Golden Bay.
I noticed the 17th C Ghajn Tuffieha Tower, one of many that we saw on our drive, floating above a secluded beach. History dictated that people needed to communicate across the island using fires to alert a danger and here we are today, a lifesaver tower on the beach with beer, coffee and good pizza's on tap.
All this life and all this history all playing out on a speck of strategic land called Malta.

Golden Bay - a swim in the Med and people watching over lunch.

Number 37: A national gap-filler here in Malta, pastizzi

Food and how it is sold makes traveling so interesting. So the first thing I read was to look out for a hole-in-the-wall take-away pastizzi shop, we left Bruce and Cathy to get some admin done and headed out for the national gap-filler as our lunch treat while walking around the harbour here at Ta'X Biex.

Number 37:

A national gap-filler here in Malta, pastizzi.

They are delicious little pies; crusty, flaky parcels filled with ricotta cheese and rather surprisingly, mushy peas and onions. I like and so did Fred, he smashed a handful of these 40 cent treats while watching million euro yachts bob in the harbour.

Finding pastizzi, a Malta national gap-filler

Number 36: Reviewing our Sicilian hike in numbers.

Week 20 of the year and we committed to trying to walk a marathon a week as often as possible, to date we have 17 weeks with at least 42 km under the belt.

And week 20, our hiking in Sicily week, was way more than two back to back marathons in 5 days...

Number 36:

Reviewing our Sicilian hike in numbers.

Companions on the walk - lizards.

• 5 days of hiking from the centre of Sicily to the sea in spring with beautiful clear, sunny weather.
• Longest day was 25 km of walking.
• Hours spent on a path, 36; an average of 7 hours a day.
• Most varied terrain we have ever hiked through and rough underfoot; grassy plateaus, wildflowers fields, screeslopes, forests, woods, olive groves, narrow mountain passes, wide drover tracks, ancient cobbled Roman roads, tarmac and concrete side roads, streams and eroded banks.
• Rarely saw people, but when we did they were open and friendly.
• Goats, sheep, cows and horses, their bells sounding like an orchestra tuning up.
• We heard countless church bells along our walk.
• Cathy's fall scared us all, she is strong and getting through the trauma of the hospital visit and has stitches in her mouth and lip.
• Banter from Bruce kept us going and we missed his quick wit and navigation skills.
• A doctor helped clean Fred's head, knee and thumb gashes in Isnello.
• Climbed over and passed through gates made of wire with wooden posts.
• Glimpsed wild deer and a snake and the lizards were constant companions on the path.
• The high pitched screeches of the swifts dominate the early morning and evening skies.
• Fields and fields of wildflowers, all so beautiful and they made for joyous walking.
• Climbed to over 1600m in the Madonie National Park, and did it a  few times!
• Dropped 886m to sea level here in Cefalu, over a distance of 4 km on day 5.
• Visited three hilltop villages; Enna, Gangi, and Geraci Siculo.
• Overnighted in 6 very different types of accommodation; a high altitude hotel in Enna; in Villa Raino Agriturismo, a restored 18th C home; a hilltop casa in GeraciSiculo; a creepy, remote wooden chalet in the Madonie Mountains; a village B&B in Isnello and a seaside hotel in Cefalu.
• We were nourished by kind Sicilian hosts feeding us an evening meal, the traditional antipasto, pasta, secondi and seasonal fruits and of course many glasses filled with the local wines.
• We provisioned  and picnicked along the way, panini's with cheese and cold meats, and if possible a beer and expresso were welcome treats when available.
• We took in Sicily's complex history along the path, going back to prehistoric times and admired the historic buildings, the watchtowers, the fortresses and the churches; and all our paths were dotted with shrines, some neglected and others cared for.

So its the start of a new week, week 21, just maybe I will give myself a rest from walking, I need new shoes and my feet are very tender this morning and seem reluctant to carry my weight.

Our ATG Oxford, Sicily: From the Centre to the Sea route.

Number 35: Navigating the 'middle of nowhere', Madonie National Park, Sicily

It's one thing to pull on walking clothes, tie shoelaces and get walking. These last two days of traversing the Madonie Mountains have tested my physical and mental fitness, and rather surprisingly the real challenge for Fred and me has been navigating and following instructions in the walking booklet.

Number 35:

Navigating the 'middle of nowhere', Madonie National Park, Sicily

In the wild, with the absence of landmarks, the paths overgrown with wild fennel, uneven terrain, an outright crazy terrain, made for some really stressful moments on the 4th day of our hiking.
Here are just some of Fred's photos!

"Find the tree with a Y-shape..."

'Navigate between brambles, holly, gorse, streams...'

'Take care on the scree slopes...' I say!!

'Find the dead tree, look for the water hole...'

'So Sharon, where to now says Fred'. who knows, lets find a road and call Uber!

Number 34: Being in the Middle of Nowhere

A Kostantin Grcic quote caught our attention as we were hiking in the Madonie National Reserve on day 3 of our ‘Sicily: From the Centre to the Sea hike.’ 

I cannot improve on the sentiment.

Remarkable beauty of the Madonie Mountains

Number 34:

Being in the Middle of Nowhere.

‘Being in the Middle of Nowhere. This saying expresses the silent beauty of a far away place, a remote spot on this planet without the distraction of disturbance. For us Gimmeti is such a place. Where everything is about pure sensation of the pristine Madonien landscape that surrounds you. An ambiance that invites you to be there, to linger, to contemplate; that makes you feel its wildness and infinity, where your view is free and unrestricted in every sense.’

 

A view that is free and unrestricted....rugged, tough hiking!

Number 33: Anna's Sicilian Kitchen, intense and pure flavours

Bartolo and Anna are our hosts here at Casa Albergo Maggio, warm and generous, and we communicate with smiles and our hands! As she welcomed us into her kitchen with a shot of coffee I could smell the veal ragu gentling cooking on the gas stove.

Number 33:

Anna's Sicilian Kitchen, intense and pure flavours.

Anna called us to dinner at 8pm and we were treated to the simplicity of fresh produce perfectly prepared. She explained that they grow their own vegetables, make their own olive oil, harvest wild herbs and serve their guests seasonal food. The wine and water are local too.

This meal was a window into a Sicilian kitchen and what a true gift after a day on the path to be taken care of like this!

Antipasto, primo piatto, secondo piatto and dolci.

Bruce with Anna, he particularly loved the meal after a tough day seeing Cathy fall and having to spend the afternoon at the nearest hospital. Rest well and recuperate Cathy!

Number 32: Drinking the third best water in the World and curious Sicilian villages

I so enjoy not knowing where this blog is going to take me this year, but today made me smile when Fred and I arrived at the Saracen Fountain in Geraci Siculo, and we read that an American Laboratory has declared the water to be the third best in the world - makes me want to find number 1 and 2, but I am not going down that rabbit hole!

Number 32:

Drinking the third best water in the World and curious Sicilian villages.

One of the enduring pleasures of walking is water and Fred carries many litres for us, so it was such a treat to stop at the Saracen fountain, to drink deeply from the fast flowing, ice-cold water and to fill all our bottles for tomorrow's hiking. The fountain is at the base of Geraci Siculo, our destination on day 2 of our hiking.

Saracen Fountain, Geraci Siculo

Geraci Siculo, in the distance, seen from our walk, what looks like rock
is the town.

The towns in this central mountainous area of Sicily cling to mountain tops, the houses spilling down the steep slopes and they have histories dating back to prehistoric times, Greeks settled here in 550 BC, then Romans, then Saracens, then Arabs, then Normans and so on until the feudal era in the eighteen hundreds. 

And now their story is one of decline!

Our guide book quotes General George Patton in 1943, as having said that Gangi, one of these remarkable hill towns, was 'the most curious village that I have ever seen'. 

A favorite moment on the hike, been watched by Sicilian goats.

I rather agree, having stayed in Enna, hiked up into Gangi and now into Geraci Siculo to our Casa Albergo Maggio with its awesome views, these villages are curious indeed.

Number 31: Hiking among the wild flowers of central Sicily

This holiday, Spring in Europe, was centered around hiking in Sicily, doing the ATG Oxford 'Centre to Sea' walk over 7 days from Enna to Cefalu. And here we are, the four of us, Bruce and Cathy having arrived from Malta, ready to start, on a beautiful clear spring day.

Number 31:
Hiking among the wild flowers of Sicily

The flowers did not disappoint! They were a joy, fields of flowers dotted among the agricultural fields. 

We saw no people on the paths, except for a few farmers, what a privilege in the busy, chaotic world we all live in.

A perfect May day among the spring flowers in Sicily.

The 25 km challenged us but we loved it all. Roman cobbled ancient roads, farm tracks, dirt tracks, off road stream crossings, rocky tracks, concrete tracks, sometimes gentle and quite often very steep gradients, up and down. Cathy was fantastic, this being her first long day of hiking. 

At times we got lost in the books trying to figure out the route!

And we wake up today, ready to go again from our lovely rural accommodation -  an 18th C house called Villa Raino, where we were fed layers and layers of delicious Sicilian family food and litres of the house red wine. 

The scenery along our hike between Villadoro and Gangi.

Number 30: Our first Arancini from iconic Pasticceria Savia in Catania

Even with Rosella cooking for us, it is hard to believe that I have waited this long to try Arancini!

Number 30:

Our first Arancini from iconic Pasticceria Savia in Catania.

Arancini, are said to have originated in 10th C Sicily at a time when the island was under Arab rule, are stuffed rice balls, crumbed and deep fried.  

The morning plan was to breakfast at Pasticceria Savia, along Via Etnea and try our first arancini. No better way to start the morning and they are completely delicious! We tried the ragu and the aubergine and mozzarella. Landed...

Our first foodie joy in Sicily - Arancini from Pasticceria Savia.

Number 29: A very strange train experience, the boot of Italy to Messina, Sicily

The New York Times today featured a piece on travelling to Catania, and here we are at the station in Villa San Giovanni, the last stop before our ‘train crossing’ to Messina, Sicily, doing the same trip as he describes! 

I do not quite know what to expect, when Fred booked our train ride there was no mention on how we crossed this strategic bit of sea separating Sicily from the mainland.….

Number 29:

A very strange train experience, the boot of Italy to Messina, Sicily.

  

SO Frugal Traveler writes – “at the tip of the boot, the entire train was loaded – passengers and all - onto a large ship and ferried to Sicily. Once unloaded in Messina, we continued in the same train down Sicily’s coastline, past Taormina and into Catania Central”

Train ride across to Messina, Sicily

And so we did, boarded the train in Villa San Giovanni, sat as it was delayed, we were then shunted onto the ferry, customized for these trains! We then got off, looking across to Sicily for the first glimpse of the golden Madonna gleaming in the sun, a quick half hour, back to our seats on the train and made our way to Catania, and our first glimpses of Mount Etna.

All very strange, goodness knows what politics lies behind this process!

Number 28: A ferry across the Adriatic Sea, Split to Ancoma

I am reading Andrea Camilleri, the Sicilian author of the Montalbano crime novel series, to get into the mood for the next leg of our trip - Sicily.
The stories are fine, but I pay attention to the food writing, this man knows and loves his Sicilian cuisine. Anticipation and thanks Di for pointing me to this quirky set of books.

Number 28:

A ferry across the Adriatic Sea, Split to Ancona

A slow cruise across the Adriatic Sea.

I resisted the obvious, to take a quick flight across the Adriatic Sea. Instead it was a relaxed 10 hour ferry crossing with views of the Dalmation Islands and then a gentle sea and not much else. 

This was certainly our longest ferry crossing to date and we took an upsell on a sea view cabin, a nap, a read and dreaming of Sicilian food. I like indeed; and in keeping with doing things differently this year we are using trains over the next two days. Ancona - Bologna - Rome - Catania, Sicily.