Malta Madness

I have arrived in Malta with my dear friend Robin and am only just surviving the heat...39 degrees today. Lucky it is a small island, only 316 sq km with a population of about 400,000...390,000 of whom are British tourists!!!!!!!!!! I never knew.

Also, I purchased my cheap ticket through Swissair...so had to stop at Zurich on the way here, and the pic is the proof. Only had 1 hour but their local red was very pleasing. Yes, I bought the t-shirt.

Malta is a great place - the people are so friendly and the island has so much history. St Paul as ship-wrecked here and the Knights of St John ruled the place for a couple of hundred years. The pic of the tower shows that the Knights were the 'eyes and the ears' of everything that comes near or into the major harbour of Valletta. Double click the pick to see the eye and the ear reminder. Love it!

They are publicly very religious and I especially timed my visit to celebrate the Feast of the Assumption which is huge here and in the Mediterranean as a whole. The pic of the banners above shows Mosta getting ready for the Assumption celebrations. Fireworks are a big part of the evening celebrations, but they come at a cost. This pic shows the explosion that diverted our tour suddenly this afternoon. The explosion from people moving fireworks killed three and injured many others. We felt it and honestly, we knew it was not good.

Tomorrow we are hiring a car for two days and driving the island, including a visit to Gozo. we are celebrating the Feast Day tomorrow night in Mosta and then again in Victoria, Gozo on Sunday.

This page is dedicated to Fr Tom Thornton and his 30 years of priesthood, and Fr Samy who celebrates his first year of priesthood, both this weekend. Happy Birthday Samy, as well. I will celebrate for you. Pace e bene.