Sicily to Malta
Ferry to Malta, the 8th most densly populated country in the world.
It's an early get up at 6 am to catch a ride to the ferry bound for Malta.
Malta has one of the best climates in the world, with over 3000 hours of sunshine every year.
Since a few people asked us about Malta, here are some fun facts.
• Geographic size: Main island Malta stretches roughly 17 miles or 27 km across, and the total shoreline of Malta, Gozo, and Comino tallies up to a little over 168 miles or 271 km
• Population size: Over 516,000 locals with 100,000.00 immigrants
• Population Density: 1,346 per km² (8th most densely populated country/territory in the world, 4th in Europe)
Small place, with lots of churches! We could stay in Malta for an entire year and visit a different church every day? There are 365 churches around Malta and the island of Gozo. I am pretty sure we will not be seeing them all!
We watched a movie about Malta's history, which was quite interesting. The oldest buildings in Europe are found in Malta and are older than the Pyramids of Egypt. During the last 2,000-odd years, Malta has known 11 foreign rulers. Nowadays, though, Malta is an independent republic, having gained independence from the British Empire in 1964 and still part of the British Commonwealth.
For our first day we hopped on but didn't hop off part of Malta via the Hop on Hop Off Bus. On day 2 we ferried to and walked around old Valletta. Valletta, the capital city of Malta, is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site thanks to its staggering number of over 300 historic buildings.
If you are studying baroque architecture, this is the place to be.
We stopped for some German food at a food truck on our first night here. Who knew that eating vegan Schnitzel on the side of the road could be so much fun? The food truck owner was so funny and talkative and then add some regular customers to the conversations; it made for an entertaining end to our first night here. It was so good we returned the second night and again enjoyed great conversations with locals.
After our food truck stop on night two, we strolled over to where some shiny yaughts are moored and then followed the sound of live music to a park full of people, venders for booze sales to chachkas, and families out for the night. Apparenlty this is part of a three day wine and music festival.
So with our brains full of history, my legs tired from walking, and my belly full of German comfort food we crashed on night two to rest up for another day of exploration tomorrow.
