July 18 - Marsascala

 July 18 - Marsascala

Our first full day in in Malta and a big change in pace from the last few weeks. 

This morning we took off for a walk along the coast towards a local national park, Xrobb l-Għaġin Nature Park. About 10k return it was a real mixture of scenery and terrain.  Starting off from the promenade outside our place we soon came across the local salt pans. Looking a bit chessboard-like and dating back to Roman times, these pans used for salt production are carved into the coastal rocks to contain sea water.  This water is then left to settle for for a few days while the drying process forms a thick layer of salt, and this is then harvested. This salt, although used for normal daily use, was especially important during the islands many sieges when, with limited supply of fresh food, the production of salt became more important for preserving food. 

Passing on we then came across the half finished and derelict remains of a General Gaddafi financed hotel, that, due to his demise, will never to be completed.  It’s an eyesore!

St Thomas’ Bay was our next passing point.  Quite a nice bay, with many small boats, it looks like a popular bathing spot with the locals.  With a few beachside bars it looks like it could be a popular drinking spot for the tourists as well!  There’s also a local belief that, based on geographical and archeological findings, this bay is the true landing point of Paul the Apostle following his shipwreck on Malta.

Our last stop was just short of our intended destination as there were some unsafe cliff tops along the path. However, it didn’t matter by then as we’d experienced some great views of the cliffs as well as the beautiful aqua-blue sea.

On the way back though we stopped again for a bit of a swim.  Just a few minutes away from we’re staying and the water was fantastic.  Cool, but not too much, it was just what we needed in the 33° heat!