Malta

We decided that we wanted a new experience with a new place that we had never been and since we were so far south after Tunisia, we decided to go to the country of Malta. It was an easy overnight to the island of Malta and Gozo and as we arrived at the outskirts of the islands we saw and were greeted with our first sea turtle since we have arrived in the Med. It was just lazily playing on the surface and seemed to say, "Come relax and play with me in Malta."
Okay..........










                                                                                 The Captain at the helm in his jeans and sweatshirt
                                                                                  as it is still a bit chilly here. Where is summer???








The beautiful ancient city and port of Valletta
rises out of the rocky cliffs. It is a natural harbor
and quite majestic.








We went into the port of Grand Harbour and got a berth, as they say that it is one of the most impressive harbours in the Mediterranean. They were right.









And so we began sightseeing and playing the tourist with great gusto.















In the Stone, Copper and Bronze Ages, Malta was inhabited and civilizations of some complexity built temples and had elaborate burial traditions. One of these temples and tombs, the Hypogeum at Paola dating from 2400BC, is a fascinating underground structure carved out of limestone. It predates the Pyramids and Stonehenge and is the oldest known Stone Age temple along with the Tarxien Temple.
They believe that as a temple, fertility rites took place here because of the numerous statues found of the female figure. The most well known is below of the "Sleeping Mother Goddess"which was found in the Hypogeum and believed to be 5000 years old.

In the Tarxien temple, what was probably the most colossal sculpture them in existence was this sculpture presumably of the Mother Goddess. It has been broken in half and the top part is missing. Of course, we found all of this fascinating as it indicates the possibility of a Matriarchal Society with the worshipping of the Sacred Divine Feminine Goddess.

The Captain standing proud in front of EcstaSea at the dock.

The first mate smiling in the morning with her cup of coffee.

Standing at the dock  and finally enjoying some warmer days......

                                                         














We also went to the old city of Mdina and spent an afternoon exploring the beautiful walled city.

The colorful little gondola type boats that ferry people to and fro were anchored right off of our stern and were our backyard playground and entertainment.

We had a wonderful time in Malta as you can see in this picture of us on the old wall of Valleta with the harbour in the background. The Maltese people are undoubtedly the friendliest, warmest and happiest people we have met in all of Europe, and we thank them for their hospitality.
It was fun exploring this new country of Malta with it's rich history and culture. We have a deeper knowing and appreciation for the ancestors before us and as always leave with more expansive consciousness and gratitude.
Thank you Malta......