malta: malta: blue grotto and haqar qim temples

This was my last day in Malta, I used the day to do another day trip to two more sights on the island. I caught one of the first buses in the morning, hoping to be one of the first people to arrive, thinking there would be fewer pictures in whateva photos I took.

My first sight is called the Blue Grotto. Like the Blue Hole that used to exist on the island of Gozo, this was a natural sight, formed by the action of water over millenia, crashing on rock over and over. People come here to ride boats through the holes that have been created by all those waves.

The bus stop is at the top of everything, you have to walk down a fairly steep road to get to the boats. Go figure, I got all the way down the hill, to find a sign at the boats with the same message as the ferry I'd wanted to ride in Valletta: not working due to wind. Argh.

This time I could see the waves crashing onto the rocks so I could see why the decision was made not to run the boats. I wasn't happy about it, but I could understand. Even so, darnit.

I walked to a viewpoint that lets you see some of the holes in the rocks, but it wasn't as good as what I'd hoped to see. 

Oh well, traveling doesn't always work out the way you want it to.

After the viewpoint I walked back up the hill, and followed the road a bit further, only a 25 minute walk or so. (Uphill the whole way, in the direct sun. I feel this has been a theme of my posts for this trip.)

My second sight of the day was heaps better than the first. It was another set of ancient megalithic temples. This complex was similar to what I'd already seen on Gozo and in Valletta, but it was bigger, with more ruins.

Like the others, these temples of Haqar Qim (sp?) date back to 3600 BC or so, give or take a few years. They are made of limestone, which means they haven't weathered particularly well over the millenia, and that won't get better.

Like the temples in Valletta, these are covered with a giant tent like tarp. I suppose this protects the stones from rain and such, but I don't know how much, if anything, it does against the wind. Since these temples are right on the coast, the wind is constant.

As these temples are also UNESCO sights, there is an entrance fee. Sigh, but I understand why. At least this time I could see that some preservation was taking place.

After wandering around for a while, making sure I stepped into every nook and cranny possible, I headed back toward the entrance, making my way to the bus stop.

It didn't take long for a bus to pull up, and bring me back to Valletta. I'd packed up and checked out earlier in the morning, but was able to leave my bag at my accomodation, so I headed there to pick it up.

If you've read the two previous posts you won't be surprised to know that I had the same dinner as the previous three nights: Indian food, then gelato and pastries for dessert. After eating I caught a bus back to the airport, from which I took off and ended up back in Moscow.

I liked Malta, and I could see myself coming back here, but it isn't at the top of my list for the time being.