Malta
9th March - 19th March, 2021
We arrived in Valletta, Malta, 09:30 9th March after a very fast, brisk, and variable passage.
Her is some statistic from our passage:
It took us 5 days. Last 24 hours we had sustainable winds of 30+ knots with big following seas. At the end we had to slow down to not get into Valletta when it was dark. We had three reefs in the main and no foresail, still doing 5-6 knots.
Wonderful passage!
The shortest great circle distance is 610 Nautical Miles. We sailed 705 Nautical Miles to get here. We ran the engine 21 Hours (17.4%) during the passage.
Nerdy stuff from Anders: We got 133.3 Ahrs/day from Solar, 66.7 Ahrs/day from Wind, and 150 Ahrs/day from Hydro during the passage. A total of 350 Ahrs/day.
Time to get cleaned up and get some rest. We will now explore the beauty of Malta. Cheers
Leaving the Greek waters "accompanied" by the warship, with the majestic snowcapped mountains of Crete in the background
Approaching Valletta we had to sail through this crowd of tankers/cargo ships anchored 12 nm outside Valletta, in the dark.
Now out on Internationell waters. Flying the spinnaker into the sunset
The inlet to Valletta harbor
For two days we have walked the old streets of Valletta and the surrounding cities. Such a beautiful place with so much history. Here are some highlights. Hope you enjoy it :-)
First day of our road trip in Malta. Interesting driving on small narrow roads, driving on the left side of the road. Love the spectacular south coast
Second part, and two more days, of our road trip in Malta and Gozo. We love these islands. Everywhere you want to drive to in Malta it's 20 min, in Gozo it's 10 min Wherever we go, even to the most touristy places we are all alone, so it's really easy to get good pictures
Since the pool was closed due to Covid I took a morning swim in the ocean
We took the ferry over to Gozo.
Interesting ferry with two levels and a pretty steep ramp down
Just out exercising the horse. Love the sound of the hoofs against the road
The spectacular cliffs of T'a Cenc on the south coast of Gozo. Can you spot me?
Here I am sitting on the edge to the cliffs
Anders is taking a picture straight down the cliffs...Pretty steep and deep...
Got to love the navigation app Maps.me This time we ended up in a closed gate...but the app is free
The Citadel in Victoria is built on one of the many flat-topped hills in the center of Gozo, in the last part of the Middle Ages. At one point all the population of Gozo had to take shelter within these walls
On 26 July 1551 Gozo suffered it worst siege in history. The Turks descended from a fleet of one hundred and forty five vessels. All the people sought shelter within the Citadella, their only place of refuge. However, the medieval fortifications without flanks and terreplein to resist gunpowder bombardment, succummed. The whole population of Gozo, about 5000 persons, was dragged into slavery
The cathedral inside the Citadell was built late 1600th. We couldn't get inside since it was closed
This inscription records the house of Bernardo de Opuo. In 1551, when the City fell to the Turks, Bernardo, preferring a noble death to slavery, killed his wife and two daughters and then fought the enemy until he himself fell under their scimitar.
View from the Citadell looking east
Lots of narrow alleys within the Citadel
One of the tunnels leading down to the outer lower levels with gardens and canons
The view from our hotel in Xlendi, on the south coast
Just love the colors in this picture
We climbed up the hill to the west on these carved out steps
Anette made it up the stairs...
Beautiful views over the Xlendi bay and our hotel
Sunset over Xlendi bay from our room
Next day we went to the the Inland Sea, on the west coast of Gozo. It's a sea filled basin surrounded by high cliffs and pebbly beach. The water is warmer here, so great for swimming.
An aerial view over the Inland Sea. Lots of colorful boathouses in this sheltered basin.
The Fungus Rock, the local calls it "Il-Gebla tal General", the general's rock, because it is said that a Commander of the order of St John discovered a special bush here. It was jealously protected by the Knights of St John as it was believed that it possessed great medicinal properties against certain illnesses. In 1744 the rock became completely inaccessible all around. It's a very popular and sheltered anchorage inside the rock
Ta' Pinu Sanctury. This is a national shrine and a centre of pilgrimages for both the Gozitans and the Maltese.
On the east coast you see a lot of these salt pans. These are still in use today. Several tons, of sea salt, are produced every year
Back in Malta we stopped by the movie site of the Popeye Village on the north west side of Malta. Fun to see!
Always some boat projects. Here we're doing some small patch repair on the spinnaker
Our last night in Malta was in Il Marbat anchorage on the north west tip of Malta. Beautiful sunrise when we left at 06:30am
Round the corner from our anchorage we passed through the channel between Malta and the little stunning isle of Comino
Passed outside Xlendi, Gozo, where we stayed one night in the hotel. Very sheltered bay from N-SE winds
Leaving the stunning cliffs of Gozo, and Malta. Next stop Africa...200 nm