Mdina

Today didn’t turn out quite as expected. But we didn’t mind at all. The French and I are nothing if not adaptable. That’s one of the advantages of independent travel - you can be agile and change course easily.

Our plan today was to go to the Dingli cliffs on the south west coast of Malta. It’s less than 20 kms from The Three Cities and easily accessible by a local bus, a few steps from our boutique hotel, and changing at the Valletta bus interchange to another bus to to the town of Had-Dingli. From there, a short walk to the coast and along the cliffs. We would have a few hours there, maybe a late lunch and then make our way back.

It was cloudy when we left The Three Cities but the forecast was otherwise fine with no wind. Maybe the cloud would lift. You have to take your chances. Unfortunately by the time we arrived at Dingli cliffs the clouds were not only in the sky but had descended to sea level. Not exactly the ‘belle vue’ we’d hoped for, but it was quite atmospheric, even though you could barely see the cliffs. The French and I reflected that, as fabulous as the Dingli cliffs may be on a fine day, we do have spectacular cliffs in our own backyard, back home on the Bouddi Peninsula, so we can’t be too disappointed. Our time at Dingli cut short, what to do next?

The bus we’d taken from Valletta had stopped at Rabat / Mdina, where we will be staying for the final two nights of our holiday. But, we thought, why not stop there on the way back and have a short reconnaissance tour of the Mdina. So that’s what we did, and thoroughly enjoyed our stroll and a delicious late lunch as well. Our time there made us even more enthusiastic for our longer stay late next week.

So, next, the bus back to Valletta. But instead of taking another bus at the Valletta interchange we crossed the town and made our way down to the ferry stop. While waiting for the ‘big ferry’ - the one with extra things like safe gangplanks and life jackets - we noticed a man spruiking a ride on a traditional boat. Why not? So, on we hopped and had a quick and fun ride back to The Three Cities. Careful not to drop my phone overboard, I managed to take a couple of videos that I’ve included.

One final treat, a family of mother duck and gorgeous fuzzy ducklings we had seen yesterday among the outdoor tables of a Greek restaurant on the waterfront were there again this afternoon. All in all a great day.

Tomorrow, our last full day on Malta for a while, we will spend in the big smoke, Valletta, just across the harbour by big or small boat. 😎Read more