If anything sails the seas, it can fall prey to natural disaster or be felled by human error, or a combination of the two. Costa Concordia was off its scheduled course by sailing far nearer to the isle of Giglio, just off the Tuscan coast.  But it transpires that similar unscheduled routes in these waters had been plied before by cruise ships of the same size and class and just months before. Did navigational equipment fail to detect the rocks; did the captain ignore any automated warnings; did systems fail? There’s a vast amount of technical detail that the enquiries will plough through, quite apart from eye witness accounts. Nothing is clear cut.

History is littered with such seafaring tales. Recently, there was news that the original H.M.S. Victory of the British Navy (the predecessor of Admiral Lord Nelson’s ‘Victory’) is to be salvaged from the seabed in the English Channel around 100km off where it was thought to have sunk in 1744.  For nearly three centuries, naval history had cast doubt on its commanding officer’s ability to navigate, saying that the ship was well off course when it sank in a storm near Alderney.  Found around two years ago by the Odyssey Marine Exploration team, the wreck lies where the course was set and some 300 years of rumour about the ability of its commanding officer, Admiral Sir John Balkin, are now laid to rest.

Who knows how history will judge this tragedy.  But there is one aspect of the affair that is understandable, particularly is you live on small islands yourself.  The Costa Concordia’s unscheduled, and this time allegedly unauthorised route close to Giglio, was apparently in order for the ship to ‘salute’ a former colleague who lived on the tiny island.  The folk of Giglio, an isle of some 700 houses, would probably all have felt a kinship with the Costa Crociere liners. One of their own had been a crew member.  How proud then to see a Costa liner in full glory, lights ablaze across the water, larger than life and nearer to home than usual.

Anyone who’s seen the giant cruise liners almost on eye level with the Barrakka Gardens in Valletta or seen them enter or leave Grand Harbour, deep sonorous siren sounding, will feel a frisson of excitement – however many times you’ve witnessed it as a resident here.  The feeling that the cruise ships ‘belong’ here, to us, and are part of the life blood of Malta runs deep.

Malta too often celebrates it locals who’ve made it out there, internationally; those who’ve hit the bigger time. We can understand, if not sanction, Captain Schettino’s deviation on the night of the 13th, that was intended to show that even in a cruise industry dominated by two megalithic international players, there’s still a local heart to the business.  No wonder then that some reports show Giglio residents deeply shocked – it’s not a tragedy that happened to play out on their island, it’s a tragedy in which they all feel they share, deeply.

Photo: courtesy of Robert G. Henderson

Still, having said that, we will see an average of 5.5 hours per day of sunshine and 95 mm of rain. Compare all this to Manchester in the UK, having an average daytime temperature of 6C, night time of 1C, 89 mm of rain and 1 hour of sunshine.

What is good about Maltese weather is that if storms come, they generally will not last more than a few hours, so one should never have to wait long for a break in the weather. The storms can also make for some spectacular views of the coast as the waves of a stormy sea crash against the rocky coast.

Weather watch is brought to us by our regular weatherman Tony Muscat who runs his own monitoring station, it-Temp, in Mellieha in Malta’s north.

Photo: Courtesy of Leslie Vella.

If you’re at all into prehistory, mysticism or ancient cults or just fancy a more unusual start to your Christmas week – well armed with a flask of hot coffee – then do try to make Heritage Malta’s guided tours of Mnajdra, Thursday 22nd December, meeting at Hagar Qim temple at 06.00.

But, you’ll have to be quick, numbers are limited in order to ‘enhance the visitor experience’.

A bit of background from the experts
The unique setting of the Mnajdra Temples at Qrendi, overlooking the coast, gives them a special charm not to be found in any other of the large-scale megalithic buildings of the Maltese Islands, many of which lie in more urban areas or inland.

Sunrise on the first day of each season underlines the relationship between the temples and celestial bodies. Although it is not known for certain whether these orientations were intentional, they are so systematic that this is very probable. In prehistoric agricultural societies, observation of the motion of the stars, the moon and sun could have been related to the changing seasons and times of planting and harvesting crops.

On these days, the first rays of the sun light up the edge of a megalith found to the right of the central doorway connecting the first pair of chamber to the inner chamber of the Lower Mnajdra Temple.

Event Tickets & Further Info
Experience the Winter Solstice from Mnajdra Temples on the 22nd of December. Tickets can be purchased from all HM sites/museums for the price of €15 per person and €10 for HM members and will include a tour of Hagar Qim and Mnajdra Temples and access to the Visitor Centre. Meeting time is 6.00am at Hagar Qim Temples. Limited places. For further information contact 21424231.

For further information, see the Heritage Malta website. Tickets available also at the HM Head Office, Ex-Royal Naval Hospital, Marina Street, Bighi, Kalkara.

For all its seasonal allure, the pumpkin is actually on offer all year round in Malta, and pretty much a staple, fail-safe vegetable season in, season out. True, it lends itself better to autumn-winter fare (soups, added to stews, and so on) but it’s just as available in peak summer in 40°C. It’s also everywhere; if you’re out and about in the countryside, you’re bound to come across roofs and walls with pumpkins lined up, picturesquely ripening in the sun.

The beauty of the pumpkin, despite being a rather bland veg, is that it’s cheap. Right now, it’s a snip at the price at 70c/kilo, which is a fraction of one I saw on sale in the UK last autumn. The Maltese actually eat pumpkin a lot, so it’s not sold at a premium lantern-making price – yet.

So, what is it turned into here? Well, Qargha (Maltese for not only pumpkin, but gourd and marrow as well) is a basic veg, so it dominates the medley that goes into Minestra (minestone), which is a regular, traditional lunchtime filler for many families. Pumpkin comes in both white (qargha torka) and orange (qargha hamra) fleshed varieties and adds bulk, and colour to stew (stuffat tal-Qargha Hamra). Occasionally, it’s made into pies, and among cognoscenti of celebrity chefs from beyond these shores, it’s turned into a mean risotto.

The small, rural locality of Manikata, in the North-West of Malta, holds an Annual Pumpkin Fair. It could be the place to work out what to do with pumpkin beyond making soup! The event, which starts at 10.30, Sunday 30 October, 2011, is run by the Manikata Farmers Cooperative; see their website for full details. The fair should prove an authentically seasonal outing for the kids this coming half term!

How you may ask?

The answer is simple, by taking a trip to The Point shopping centre, Tigne’ Point, Sliema on Saturday 21 October and visiting level -2 and level -3 where you will find Sharklab-Malta and fellow Shark Alliance members Greenhouse and Nature Trust holding a full day shark awareness activity.

Sharks are facing massive problems globally and especially in the Mediterranean from the problems of overfishing and the huge demand for fins to feed the Asian demand for “sharkfin soup”. The barbaric act of finning (the removal of the sharks fins while the shark is still alive and then thrown back to the water to drown) does not occur in Maltese waters but is a common practise throughout many European fleets and is having a catastrophic effect on populations of many species. This year as part of European Shark Week you can add your name to the petition to make your voice heard that it is time for change.

Your voice can make a difference to the survival of many species of Sharks, some of which used to call the waters around Malta home and are now facing crisis point within the Mediterranean.

By visiting the event this Saturday you be able to not only sign the petition (also online here), but also have the opportunity to learn the real facts about sharks. Contrary to popular belief the probability of encountering a shark around the Maltese Islands is almost zero, although we know and have evidence that 36 different species have inhabited or travelled through our waters, most of these have not been sighted for many years. The majority of species which still inhabit our waters are less than a metre in length and live at depths greater than 50 metres. Larger species are a rarity and although occasional sightings are reported they are often difficult to verify.

Sharks are an essential component to the balance of the marine ecosystem and by removing them at the rate we are is only going to have major negative effects. Control of the marine ecosystem is a role they have been playing out for the last 460 million years, yet in the last 30 years there numbers have spiralled down. Blue Sharks were once a common sight all over the Mediterranean, including around Malta and their numbers in the last 10 years have dropped 90%. If we do not step up and begin to be responsible for the oceans and seas, then the situation is only going to get worse. We need sharks to maintain balance.

Sharks on our menus in Malta
When it comes to eating sharks, many people in Malta include shark within their normal diet. Shark can regularly be purchased from the high-street fish van or the local supermarket. “Mazzola” is commonly sold and the name is generically used to describe 7 different species of sharks. Unfortunately, some of these species are endangered and face the real possibility of not being there much longer in our waters, but as they are simply sold as “Mazzola” how can you tell which is endangered and which is not? And did you know that “Mazzola” is shark anyway?

So when it comes to awareness and making a difference here in Malta. We have to start with ourselves, we need to understand the importance of sharks and the roles they play in keeping the marine eco-systems balanced. If we do not care for our waters, by promoting better management and enforcing protection where needed, then we will see many species simply disappear.

We cannot let that happen, human beings caused this situation but we can turn it around, through education and action we can all play our part in not only the survival of sharks, but in making the balance within the seas as it should be.

So, play your part, make your voice heard and come see us at The Point’, sign your name and learn a little about what is under the surface of our magnificent waters.

About the Author
Greg Nowell is Founder of Sharklab-Malta, a registered NGO in Malta and non-profit voluntary organisation dedicated to research, education and raising greater awareness about all Elasmobranch (Sharks, Rays, Skates and Chimaeras) around Malta and within the Mediterranean.

For further information, check out the websites:
www.sharklab-malta.org
www.sharklab.tk
www.sharkalliance.org
www.eulasmo.org

Heritage Management that is both Sensitive and Innovative

Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar welcomes the MEPA Board’s approval of the permits for the Cittadella Masterplan and Visitors’ Centre, dealing with the restoration, upgrading and rehabilitation of Gozo’s unique citadel. The project’s holistic and sophisticated treatment of the whole area shows that a great deal of thought has gone into these plans which will partly close the 1950s arch in the bastions and reinstate the original entrance to the citadel, which many visitors to the Cittadella are not even aware of. The positioning of the visitors’ centre below the bastions also valorises another unknown feature of the fortifications, as the sally-port or hidden exit within the bastions will be used as an access from the visitors’ centre to the upper level of the fortified structure.

The Cittadella Masterplan will provide improved access to the bastions and make better use of some of the buildings within the citadel. FAA particularly welcomes the re-use of the enormous old water reservoirs just beneath the citadel’s outer walls which in the 90s were risking demolition. The innovative use of these reservoirs as a non-intrusive visitors’ centre is an excellent example of rehabilitation of an old structure.  While being modern in treatment, this conversion does not jar with the surroundings and will greatly increase our appreciation of the Cittadella’s past role, as well as attracting many more tourists to this historic site.  While it is appreciated that dismantling the flank of the reservoir that was attached to the bastions is necessary to restore a clear view of the bastion-line, FAA is gratified that our request to retain the first and last of the arches as a memory of the past structure is being favourably considered.

Part of the visitors’ centre/reservoir will form part of a water heritage trail to highlight the importance of the perched aquifer that lies just beneath the Cittadella which was the reason why this hill was chosen as an ideal defensive post centuries ago. The water trail will focus on traditional systems of water conservation in wells and even in a cavern, which will link the heritage theme with the Eco-Gozo sustainability concept. The whole Cittadella project is to be monitored by archaeologists from MEPA’s Heritage Protection Unit and the Superintendance of Cultural Heritage

This Masterplan which has received input from many sources over a number of years proves that proper planning that is sensitive to the heritage context, along with extensive consultation with local groups, has resulted in a rehabilitation project which should meet every sector’s requirements and approval.

Photo: Cathedral, Gozo, within Cittadella.  Courtesy: Leslie Vella.

Start them young and you've a cyclist for life!

e-bikes, battery powered, green and clean – we loved this idea when we heard about it; a story of one young woman’s idea to build an ‘insider business’ founded on her sixth sense for Malta’s appeal to outsiders.  It’s innovative, niche and going places – literally. There’s an offer to take advantage of too  - read to the end.

“If you grow up in the Netherlands, cycling is an extension of you; it’s like an umbilical cord. You take kids to school on bikes, you go shopping cycling. It’s just natural to do,” says Lysanne Kerr, a Dutch national and the inspiration behind a start-up offering Island tours by electric bike, MaltAcross.

Cycling has taken off big time in Malta in the past decade, and there are several clubs dedicated to the sport. Before then, most cyclists would have been elderly men, farming folk mostly, wobbling along on rickety boneshakers from small-holding plot back home.

However, as Lysanne says, most cyclists you see today in Malta are Lycra clad, male, fit, sporty and out less for an ambling ride than some serious fitness building on Sunday morning. “As a cyclist who prefers a more leisurely pace rather than an elite cycling challenge, I realised that there were some amazing places I could get to off the beaten track where I could breathe in and experience a different side of Malta. I wanted to share them, showing visitors something that regular ”packaged’ tourist excursions just can’t.”

As a long-time foreign resident here (she moved to Malta with her parents while still a student) and now married to a Maltese, Lysanne is the epitome’ of an insider-outsider.  ”I’ve even shown locals some parts of the islands they didn’t know about,” she adds.  The tours are in fact ideal for local residents, not solely tourists. We can see them easily as gifts for birthdays or as a more active, off-beat activity for friends at weekends.

As she was forming the idea into a business, Lysanne realised too that holiday-making cyclists would be of differing fitness levels and that Malta would be challenging terrain – steeps hills would be unavoidable whichever route she took.  But hills also offer stunning scenery! So, she opted for e-bikes powered by a rechargeable battery of 36 volts.

“If you need the extra boost, you can use the power which allow you a top speed of 25km/hr. Otherwise, if you’re fitter, you can flick the switch off. This means everyone keeps up and groups can really enjoy the experience without individuals getting too tired – unless they want the challenge!,” Lysanne explains. The handlebars are upright, which makes this an ideal bike for sightseeing. Cycling on an e-bike is just like cycling on a normal bicycle; you still need to pedal as usual, and the bike has seven gears for comfort.

Where the tours go and what to see on them

“We start in Gharghur, an amazing high vantage point, and plan routes that head out well away from commercial and urban centres sticking to small lanes in open countryside and diving off down alleys and narrow streets of villages.  Tours are mostly half day (4 hours) but full day and tailored times can be arranged.

“The beauty of the cycling pace is that you chance upon views and small hidden gems that you just wouldn’t reach by public transport as a tourist even if you knew about them, or a local for that matter.  Sometimes, a sight is as simple as a stunning view that you turn a corner and see unfold before you.  Other times, we pass specific historical places of interest such as prehistoric sites.  Since groups are small – max four, minimum two – and with myself as tour leader, we can tailor the route to suit a group’s pace and particular interests. For example, some people are keen to stop at traditional food outlets, others at crafts workshops, ” Lysanne says. Gozo tours are in the pipeline too.

Safety first

MaltAcross starts all tours with full instructions on the bike and a safety briefing including highway code points, and participants wear helmets. Bikes are for adults and adolescents but families with young children up to 15 kilo can use front baby seats.

What people say?

Lysanne’s venture started just this past summer, in July when her MTA licence came through, but already she’s had a good number of groups and gleaned positive feedback.  Her most unusual and telling testimonial came from a person who had a puncture. “It’s when something goes wrong that you learn the most about your business,” says Lysanne.

“Our very first time cycling in Malta was with MaltAcross and without any doubt a thrilling experience. The electric bicycle gives that little extra support to comfortably tackle the hillsides of Malta and still take in the scenery. We had the pleasure of getting a puncture at an absolutely marvellous spot where we had the chance to enjoy the peace and quietness of the area a little longer but were also shown that assistance and back-up are efficiently organized. All in all a memorable and recommendable day.”

MaltAcross Special Offer  - grab a friend and get cycling! 

Lysanne is offering a special discount to Malta Insideout site users of either 10% off the tour price of Eur 55 per persons or free pick and drop back from / to your residence, hotel or home. The offer runs for two months till end November and is for one-time use only per person.  Bookings can be made for groups of a minimum of two and a maximum of four people on the same tour.

To claim your offer, contact MaltAcross, or phone  on +356 77 66 68 33.  You can also reserve online. Quote either of these codes:

But in a couple of weeks, Zejtun, a village in Malta’s South, celebrates the start of the olive harvest in its now annual Zejt iz-Zejtun festival held this year on 24th – 25th September.  The event is about the humble but precious olive in all its glory from oil to olive breads and is a window on the industry in times past in Malta.

Zejtun has delved into its history to pull out pedigree origins to stake its claim to hold  the olive festival:  it takes its name from the Sicilian Arabic for “olive”- zaytun  and Zejtun’s etymology also stems from similarly sounding words for oil in Spanish and Portuguese, “aceituna” and “azeituna” respectively.  Zebbug means olive in Maltese, but the town of that name wasn’t first to bag the olive festival it seems.

I am always fascinated by the revival of interest in the olive oil industry in Malta, which dates back to Roman times. Especially as the islands today aren’t exactly thick with olive groves.  A large olive grinding stone was found near Burmarrad at San Pawl Milqi on the site of a largish agricultural settlement with villa.  Apparently, four agricultural villas dating from Roman times and showing evidence of olive oil pressing have been discovered on the islands. You can see the San Pawl Milqi stone in the courtyard of the Mdina Cathedral Museum.

There’s been an olive planting programme taking shape though: roadsides are home to a number of olive reforestation schemes, mainly because the trees make an attractive evergreen vista.  But there is another initiative that’s seeing Malta revive a truly ancient type of olive that can trace its roots to those Roman trees. Some 1,000-year-old olives in Malta’s north have provided the grafts to recreate that Ur-alt native olive which, it’s being proven, has some unique antibacterial properties.  Farmers have been keen to plant and harvest it. So the tide is turning and Malta is aiming to be a producer of a niche oil of exceptional quality and with some interesting properties.

Tapenade

Health benefits aside, my simple favourite pleasure in olives lies in Tapenade, a king of dips.  Tapenade is the Catalan and Provencal name for the gutsy paste made with capers, anchovies and black olives crushed up with a twist of lemon and olive oil.  No need for a recipe for this one, just rough measures:

• three handfuls of pitted olives (buy whole and pit them yourself for a better taste – painstaking but worth it)
• half a handful of capers (rinsed from salt or brine)
• as many jar anchovies strips as you fancy

Then whiz all these up in a food processor (or crush by hand in a large mortar) and add a squeeze of lemon juice and glugs of olive oil while whizzing until the Tapenade takes shape into a firm paste.  Top with some chopped parsley. Add chopped fresh chili if you like it hot.  Grab some Maltese Galletti crackers and set off on the black olive serenade!  Drink water all night if you put in lots of anchovies!

Want to see and taste Malta’s olives? 

Zejtun Olive Harvest Festival - more details here

ta’ Zeppi – a working olive farm in Fawwara, near Siggiewi, that produces its own organic oil and runs tours and tastings by appointment. Details here

Wardija Olive Oil: Sammy Cremona is the man credited with reviving Malta’s ancient olive root stock, a type of olive unique to Malta, with the help of EU, government, and private sector funding. His own olive farm in Wardija offers tours, tastings and a typical Maltese farmers lunch. By appointment only and usually for small groups. His wife Matty is a well-known local cookery expert. Call Sammy Cremona on: +356 79582294. See more about Sammy and the project here.

Merille Eco Tours - This is a niche, eco-tourism company that offers highly informative and off-the-beaten track eco tours including olive oil production and tasting and other itineraries including Maltese delicacy tastings. Details of the Olive tour here.  It caters to small groups and individuals.  Until 30 October, Merille is offering Malta InsideOut site users a 20% discount on its Maltese delicacy tasting tour. See Special Offers for details.

Photo: header courtesy Avlyxz

Just to add to this medley of historic celebratory dates, we can include a parish feast day (festa) as some four localities celebrate the feast of Our Lady as a Child (Maria Bambina/Our Lady of Victory).  To help coordinate things here a little, the religious feast conveniently changed its age-old name to the feast of ‘Il-Madonna tal-Vitorja’ in a mix of history and religious fervour following the end of the Great Siege of 1565.

But who cares about the history and religious history when you’ve the Regatta!

The 8th September is synonymous in most locals’ minds with the battle of the Grand Harbour oarsmen as they pitch brawn (and brain, in tactics and staying power) in the ritual Dhajsa rowing competitions.

Teams from Valletta, Vittoriosa, Senglea, Kalkara, Cospicua Marsaxlokk and Marsa have been practising for months to ensure they make a fighting attempt to win the Regatta.  The link with all the historic celebratory reasons above? Well, there’s the fighting spirit (reminiscent of the Great Siege) and the zeal and passion (similar to the levels that go into parish festas).

So, while some reasons for public holidays can be mundane or irrelevant to today’s society, at least 8th September has a bit more panache than most. And it’s still a day of victory for some.

Photo: Ian Oakhill

Blue Lagoon before the crowds

Comino, an isle known to Leslie Vella all his life but a place he’s never stayed on overnight – until recently. Here, he takes a walk on its wilder side at dusk and sunrise to capture a rare and precious insight into this still lonely isle that’s known mostly for its day-tripping crowds in peak summer. This is insider’s Comino.   We can’t do justice to all Leslie’s photos, so do see his Comino portfolio here.

The Mystery of Comino

Since my childhood, Kemmuna or Comino has always held a special fascination to me.  Snugly nestled between its larger siblings Malta and Gozo while, in turn, taking care of its own brood of tiny islets including the appropriately named Kemmunett or Cominotto, this small one square mile of Maltese territory possesses a uniqueness which makes it special.

Comino is near, but also far away. Contrary to what one would expect for one of the smallest islands in an archipelago, Comino is not in some far flung corner like Filfla, but just off the geographical centre of the Maltese Islands. In the days before ferries became widely available, for people like me Comino was a terra incognita, an island one got tantalisingly close to when crossing the Malta-Gozo channel, but never to step on.

From the Gozo ferry one could glimpse the almost bare rock of the island, the few stunted trees, the imposing Santa Marija Tower and a handful of other man-made structures.  One could also see the imposing cliffs, punctured by the occasional cave or grotto, and, between the thimbleful of rocky outcrops that separate Comino from Cominotto, a glimpse of that most unbelievably turquoise of shimmering water, the exotic and almost out-of-place Blue Lagoon, bearing the twentieth century and touristy name of a body of water otherwise matter-of-factly and aptly named “Bejn il-Kmiemen”, literally “Between the Cominos” by our practical, down-to-earth ancestors.

Musings on Comino as a day trip

My first forays to Comino actually consisted of the ubiquitous day trip to the Blue Lagoon.  A visit to this enchanted spot is truly an experience not to be missed, irrespective of the fact that it is currently being abused beyond the limits of sustainability by a myriad of boat operators who dump boatload upon boatload of day trippers onto the spot with its minute jetty and its postage stamp sized stretch of beach.  In spite of the crowds and the lack of space, however, swimming in the crystal-clear, transparent waters of this spot is a unique experience which one does not expect to find so far from the South Pacific.

Comino is not only about the Blue Lagoon though.  Beyond this gem there is so much more.

What is there on Comino?

Santa Maria Bay: like a paradise lost

Although its odd square mile is mostly garigue, it also features an amazing number of features, man-made or otherwise that increase its attraction and fascination.

It is one of those amazing places possessing one of a number of many things: one medieval chapel, one police station, one coastal watchtower, one permanent household, one hotel and one coastal defence battery.  It also contains one cemetery, one water pumping station, one abandoned pig farm, one lighthouse and one helipad.  Quite a list for a small rock.

I will not delve into the history of this small but fascinating island, as it has already been adequately covered in the excellent article penned by my old friend Evarist Bartolo, but will dedicate the rest of this short write-up to my own experiences and views.

To develop or not develop Comino?

“Comino is crying out for development!”  Thus uttered a work colleague who was my superior a quarter of a century ago.  My angry response to this statement was the equally emphatic, “Comino is crying out to be left alone!”  I still stick to this opinion after all these years.  Comino does not need development.  Comino does not need any further interventions.  Comino needs a simple and practical management plan.  Nature will do the rest.

Exploring Comino – wild, without crowds and wherever the paths take you

Wander wherever the path takes you

This summer I spent my first ever overnight stay on Comino, staying in the charming, although showing the signs of wear and tear, four-star Comino Hotel.  All my previous visits had concentrated on the Blue Lagoon apart from one particular day trip sometime in the early 1990s when I had spent a day with Birdlife Malta volunteers who were ringing birds during the spring migration.

Extending one’s stay by an overnight on an island like Comino makes a huge difference.  Having a hotel room base means that one can extend his range, both in terms of time and in terms of distance, beyond the limitations imposed by a typical day-trip to the Blue Lagoon.  For although distances on Comino are invariably small, the summer heat, lack of shade and the rough dusty paths that constitute the island’s roads all contribute to making summer trekking a bit of a feat, ideally to be undertaken either in the early mornings or in the late afternoons and evenings.  The period between 09:00 and 17:30 is best left to swimming, sunbathing or relaxing in the shade of the hotel’s terraces!

• San Niklaw & the old Cemetery

Who is buried there?

Over the course of one short evening and an even shorter morning, I managed to explore around one half of the island.

In the evening I walked uphill from San Niklaw to the Santa Maria Tower on the high ground spanning the Malta-Gozo channel.

En route I took the short detour to the small enclosure housing the closed and abandoned Comino Cemetery. 

The walled enclosure which is sealed by a padlocked gate contains a small cross monument in its centre, a set of unmarked graves on the left (some with their top slabs broken, presumably vandalized) and disturbed ground on the right. 

The walls protect a group of gnarled and windswept cypress trees clinging for dear life on this harshly exposed hill.

• Old Hospital & Santa Maria Tower

Continuing uphill, one eventually starts walking on a pleasant dirt road which is lined by low pine and sumac trees on one side with excellent views of Gozo, Cominotto and the Blue Lagoon on the other side.  This road leads to the remains of the one hundred plus year old British Isolation Hospital built after a cholera epidemic and the splendid glory of the Santa Maria Tower.  The Hospital building and some adjoining structures are apparently used by the only permanent residents on the island as evidenced by the various positive and negative signs of human habitation ranging from some small carefully tended fields, clothes hanging out to dry, the odd free-range chicken, and also the amazing collection of abandoned vehicles, boats and other mechanical paraphernalia which look like a mini scrap yard.

The Tower, lovingly restored by Din L-Art Helwa is a joy to behold and climbing its steep staircase raises one to an altitude which gives an immense perspective overlooking the four main Maltese islands.  The same cannot unfortunately be said about the Hospital building which bears the signs of years of neglect and abandonment.

• Santa Marija Bay & Medieval Chapel

White washed as if it were in Greece.

On the way back I decided to go downhill all the way to Santa Marija Bay.

The entire road follows the natural course of Comino’s main valley which means that one side of the entire route is very well planted with a variety of trees and shrubs.

The lower part of the valley also contains a small batch of cultivated fields before opening up to the small beach and its tiny sand-dune habitat.

Two thirds of the way down one encounters the small and charming chapel, apparently of medieval origin, with its rough façade and three arched belfry: a very well maintained, impeccably whitewashed structure surrounded by a protective band of trees which is more reminiscent of what one expects on a Greek island rather than in Malta.

• Police Station

A lonely outpost for a lone cop

Past the chapel the valley widens to the full width of the Santa Marija Bay with its small sandy beach backed by a patch of tamarisk trees, apparently popular with campers, evidence of whom can be seen through the numerous remains of bonfires and other detritus left behind when they depart.  And here, another unexpected structure: Comino’s Police Station, another simple two-floor building complete with boathouse at the water’s edge.  A very photogenic building also reminiscent of decades back when Comino housed a community of around 50 to 60 rural folk engaged in making the most of the island’s scant agricultural resources!  The bay also houses the bungalows belonging to the Comino Hotel’s Club Nautico.

• Blue Lagoon: a gem without the Crowds

My morning tour started at an early hour: at 05:40 I started walking east along the lit coastal path towards the Club Nautico.  Reaching the top of the low slope at 06:00 I had a clear, unobstructed view of a glorious sunrise:  an experience which is unique every time you witness it.  After ten minutes or so of savouring the beauty and the solitude, it was time to take the twenty minute trek to the Blue Lagoon, walking along a path which is parallel to the Gozo coast a few hundred metres across the water.

At this hour the Blue Lagoon was still devoid of people with the exception of a gang of cleaners who were busily and efficiently removing the copious remains left behind by the previous day’s visitors: remains comprising a boatful of plastic bottles, cans and ice cream packaging.  Some estimates suggest that up to 4,000 people a day visit the Blue Lagoon during the peak summer months.  Perhaps the time has come to consider establishing a capping for the number of such visitors, as the place definitely cannot sustain such a daily influx while continuing to ensure safety and a positive visitor experience.

When to visit

I shall definitely be back.  Perhaps in October before the hotel shuts down for the winter, or in May/June before the crowds start to peak and when the landscape is still full of life and wild flowers.  There is still more than one half of the island to explore.  I would like to revisit the Tower, hopefully when it’s open for visitors, hear Mass in the tiny Chapel and take a peek inside the Police Station.  I would like to revisit the Blue Lagoon at midday in autumn when almost no-one else is there and be able to hike across the island without having to avoid the unbearable sun.

My dream Comino

In the meantime I continue to dream about this tiny piece of Malta.  I dream of its continued protection and preservation from the clutches of vicious development.  I dream of its real appreciation and protection from the depredations of a few who exploit it without leaving anything in return.  I dream of the removal of unnecessary structures and rubbish, of the proper maintenance and preservation of its historic buildings.  For to dream is to hope for better things, as brilliantly expressed by George Bernard Shaw: “You see things, and you say, ‘Why?’ But I dream things that never were; and I say, ‘Why not?”

Photos: all courtesy of Leslie Vella. See his Comino portfolio here.