Malta

I thought that Malta was a very pointless point.  Technically our ships are registered in Malta and it breaks up sea days so that’s why I think we stop there occasionally.  We have been there 3 times and I usually just use it as an internet port.  The city that we dock in is called Valletta and I’ve included a few photos from that area.  As you can see it’s hot, everything is made of stone and there are virtually no trees.

To my disbelief I signed up for only one shore excursion the other day and actually got on the list.  It was the Blue Grotto boat ride tour.  Well let me tell you Malta has now pulled itself out of the negative on my scale.  The Blue Grotto was awesome!  It is basically a bunch of natural rock structures.  They take you in small groups on tiny motor boats through the many caves to check out the rock and coral formations.  The waters are beautifully blue and there are locals there snorkeling in the caves and tourists taking scuba diving trips.  I hear that there are great whites in the area and there was also a sign for the various types of jellyfish.  Yet I still went swimming.  When in Malta!… The water was glorious.  We had free time after our boat ride for a quick swim- good thing I was prepared with my swimsuit.  And then we went to a nearby fishing village called Marsaxlokk that was pretty useless and full of tourist goods and seafood restaurants.  It was a very successful half day tour and I still had time for ice cream and internet.