Wednesday 27 June
It is great to have friends and family who live on an exotic Mediterranean island. My unexpected holiday in Malta has given way for joyful surprise reunions. Meantime I am intensely absorbing all the unique features that these islands have to offer – it is much easier to appreciate that which not beneath your nose all the time!
Friday 29 June – Mnarja
That the family owns a boat is a great highlight of my visit. I often had fleeting thoughts of it while the monsoon rain was pouring down in the Himalayas! And this timely public holiday means a long-weekend at sea to enjoy.
As we arrive in Comino I feel like a cat who got the cream. I cannot remember how many times, in conversation with fellow travellers, I boasted it was one of my favourite spots on earth....
Comino has definitive character – the desolate Mediterranean island one could imagine in pirate-stories of old... stories true to its history! The surrounding features – the caves, the spectacular colours of the sea, the fortress – all add to that exotic character. No wonder this barely inhabited island is a favourite movie location.
We meet some of our 'boat-buddies', joining the boats together at St Nicholas Bay to make a large floating community. It is not long before there are 17 people crammed onto our neighbour's boat – other boat owners who swam over to give their greetings and 'celebrate to opening of the season,' now that the kids are out of school.
I smile at how this general familiarity is a remarkable feature of Malta. At just 316 square kilometres including Gozo and Comino, it is small enough so people inevitably know many of those who share the same passions and interests, creating a general laid-back and friendly atmosphere. With only 400,000 inhabitants, the Republic of Malta is just the size of a large town or small city on the continent in terms of population.
Karmen puts 'hobz biz-zejt', stuffed olives, 'bigilla', 'galletti' and Kinnie on the table, and we joke that it feels like we are at a 'kazin'. I revel in the pure Maltese vibe, with jolly laughter springing from spontaneous, cheeky humour enhanced by the character of our native tongue.
Saturday 30 June
As if all the joking and laughing, eating and drinking and splashing about with the kids yesterday was not enough for a perfect gathering, I knew that several of my friends have planned separate camping groups at Santa Marija's camping site.
I make my way along the only road on Comino and immediately bump into a couple of acquaintances. “Have you taken a plane straight from India to Comino or what?” they exclaim. I grin, and once again tell of my unplanned detour and ideas for my ongoing journey within a few weeks.
When I reach the camping site I feel emotion rising in my stomach when I see a set of Tibetan prayer flags hung across two trees. From the Sikkim Himalayas to the Maltese Islands, still the prayer flags flutter their mantras of compassion for all sentient beings unto the ether.
I recognise a voice. I peek through the trees and see familiar faces. What wonderful expressions as I run to hug them! It was Sarah who hung the flags... ironically, we met for the first time in India four years ago.
The neighbours are a much larger camping community. Many of them are well-known musicians from various bands in the underground music scene in Malta. I've known some of them since I was fifteen years old. I join under their make-shift army-camouflage shelter and laugh at their stories relating the night before, of travellers and musicians living out in the wild alongside the 'typical Maltese family'.
To the notes of Celine Dion's vocals bursting through that family's stereo in the background, I hear about how, with their generator, bedroom tent, kitchen tent and portable TV, the 'typical Maltese family' just missed on the washing-machine and the fridge to make their 'outdoor home' complete. Bless them!
We head East up the hills delighted by the pheasants scuttling out of our way, to enjoy a large, red moon-rise. Soon the full-moon is so bright that it is enough to show us the way back across the jagged, rocky terrain of the tiny island, which is just 2.7 square kilometres, towards camp.
On my way towards the Blue Lagoon, where my family awaits my return to the boat, I love the feeling of safety despite the lonely road, the moon my sole guide and companion. I count the number of cat-sized rats jumping out of my path to seven (a lucky number!) and finally a rabbit bounds across my path. Not much for a collection of wild-life, but one must be content, not?
Back to the boat, it takes me a while to settle in to sleep. The moon's shimmer on the calm water is just too beautiful, and there is not a sound at all – the sense of peace is extraordinary. I look across at Gozo's glimmering lights.
Sunday 1 July
The Blue Lagoon is a wonderful place to wake up in. The crystal-clean turquoise water invites you to bathe in it like a pool in paradise. Soon the swarms of tourists begin to arrive on the big ferries. I watch them make a line for the tiny beach, just like ants on a mission, finally settling on top of each other (quite literally!)
I take the kids to the shallow end to play with a ball. Eventually all the Maltese join groups to play one unified game, wrestling ownership of a ball between two large teams. Rather exciting... and we get away with only a few scratches and bruises!
As the sun begins to set over another day, and it is time to head back, I can barely believe how quickly the days have gone by. Comino is a special little haven.
Tuesday 3 July
I go for a walk amidst the trees in Buskett – yes you can find them if you try! Not many of them about. No I'm not complaining. I accept that you cannot have everything in life, can you?
Later I decide for a more typical Maltese landscape, and drive the short way to Dingli cliffs. Staring towards the horizon from a sheer drop of about 220 metres gives me a sensation of standing at the edge of the Earth!
Wednesday 4 July
At 5.30am I am waiting for my friend to pick me up. Our mission for the day is an early morning swim at Slug's Bay in Mellieha.
The path through the rubble at Ahrax brings us to the natural little pool and its two-person sandy beach – idyllic! Again a wonderful feeling as I watch the sun rise over the sea, in the pleasant companionship of my Maltese friend who is also visiting. We both agree that Malta is a fantastic place to holiday!
When people are on holiday they appreciate much more the beautiful side of a country – even the littlest, simplest things. It is easy when they do not have to deal with the humdrum of mundane routine and worry about the cost of living.
We talk about all the beautiful things that make this country a special place, such as the possibility to observe the glorious, peaceful beauty of sunrise and sunset over the sea any day, every day. Not many in the world have such a privilege!
Friday 6 July
The great attraction about summer in Malta is the variety of social gatherings happening outdoors, away from the setting of nightclubs and bars.
Of course there are the gigs, concerts and festivals, but on a day-to-day basis, people gather at any place along the coast from North to South. Whether on a beach, on the rocks, a lido or a seaside cafe, they meet to enjoy the cool evening sea-breeze, the stars and the moon, and good company.
The older generation tends to sit on fold-up chairs, gossiping over a glass of wine. The ever-popular barbeque may be low-key for the romantic couple hiding in the shadows, or large-scale complete with stereo-sound system.
But the gathering I like the best is the jam-session, when people bring and play bongos, djembes, darbucas, didgeridoos, shakers and other world-ethnic instruments. Much of the time these gatherings are spontaneous at spots become well-known for them, while sometimes word-of-mouth can attract large numbers.
Such spontaneous music and good vibrations often turns strangers into friends while the chanting floats into the night and dancers play with fire-sticks and poys. This is free and simple pleasure... just entertain and be happy together as one family!
Tuesday 10 July
My friend from Zurrieq treats me to a ride on his friend's boat to the Blue Grotto. Why is it that we locals barely visit these 'tourist' places when we live so close to these treasures? It is so easy to overlook something that has always just been there.
Emerging from the magnificent cave, I get a feeling of being in Thailand – it is just the way the rocks and the caves are spread around to form the land- and sea-scape. It is simply beautiful.
A swim in Ghar Lapsi treats us to more caved landscape and glorious sea. The Maltese islands offer clear waters in an array of colours to suit anybody's preference.
Saturday 14 July
Going to Gozo always makes me feel like I am going abroad! It is just that psychological thing about boarding a ship and crossing water.
To enhance my full faith in the theory of relying on local people's counsel, my Gozitan friend Victor shows me wonderful places such as Xerri's Grotto and Ninu's Cave in Xaghra that I had no idea existed in all these years.
We wander around the island a few times, not hard to do across an area of 67 square kilometres! My favourite things to do, however, still remain the compulsory swim in San Blas Bay and the sunset at Dwejra's Azure Window.
Sunday 15 July
We continue to criss-cross through the quaint villages of Gozo, still not yet converged into each other as they are in Malta.
The old lady making lace in her front garden using the old traditional method throws me overboard. Next thing to have a similar effect is the old man and his donkey drawing a cart-load of pumpkins, cap shading his sun-wrinkled face. The old city 'Citadel', the narrow village streets and the numerous country lanes contribute to the feeling of being in another age.
I start to ponder about the transformation through 7,000 years of known history of these five tiny islands barely known to the rest of the world - Malta, Gozo and Comino, Cominetto and Filfla – so rich and diverse. Again, I appreciate my good fortune to call this home!