When I arrived in Malta I realized that I had made a strategic error in not bringing my trekking poles. When I started to think about our days of touring and the nature of the sites here in Malta, I started to think that they would be quite a bit of walking through ruins and monuments, not to mention time spent walking through the somewhat hilly town of Valletta. If I had been home, I would have solved the problem with one quick online purchase from Amazon, which would’ve been delivered within two hours to my door. Instead, I looked up trekking poles near me on Google, and started calling local retailers of sporting goods. The first three I called had poles but could not arrange delivery for that afternoon. The next one I called was an adventure equipment store that had access to a delivery service and they did the transaction and had the polls shipped to my hotel in three hours. So, being away on the island of Malta turns out not to have been so very different from an e-commerce perspective than being at home on my own hilltop.
Going back 30 years or even more, I’m sure my children would agree with me that whether it was a theme park or some archaeological ruin on a tour, there was a 50-50 chance at any moment in time that you would see me sitting on a bench while others participated more vigorously in whatever activity was at hand. I guess I’ve always just been a sedentary kind of person and such things become self-fulfilling prophecies at some point because the more you sit the less you want to do anything but sit. It’s never really bothered me and I certainly have never had any FOMO about not seeing some site or riding some ride. In fact, I could argue that my tendencies work well with Kim‘s desire to shop everywhere we go. My contentment at finding a bench to sit and ponder on is such that it translates easily from walking hill towns to touring ruins to going to theme parks or just sitting and waiting patiently while Kim shops. Whatever embarrassment I used to have about not participating fully in whatever activity was underway his long since faded and I think it’s fair to say that my family and friends understand the way I roll on these trips and accept that I’m always happy with a nice shady bench.
At various times, I have had some minor injury, particularly with a knee or a hip, that might have given rise to my unwillingness to extend myself with too much walking or stair-climbing. That’s not something I can claim today because since I’ve been going to Stretch-U, nothing is hurting me. That’s actually a nice feeling to not have too many aches and pains. But trekking up and down hills and stairs when visiting sites and effectively slowing down the gang on the tour is simply not something I choose to do. If I could completely go at my own pace, I would do more, but that seems rarely to be the case.
Today’s tour on Malta is all about the outlying Neolithic temples in the southeastern part of the island. We started with a 20 minute van ride to Ħaġar Qim, which is the oldest and best preserved of the ruins. Our tour guide for the week has been Stephen, a well-spoken Maltese with a deep knowledge of local history. Ħaġar Qim is one of Malta’s most impressive prehistoric temple complexes, located on the southern coast near the village of Qrendi. Built around 3600-3200 BC during the Neolithic period, it’s older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids at Saqqara by 1,500 years. The site consists of several megalithic structures made from coralline limestone, with some of the largest stones weighing over 20 tons. These were moved with the help of imbedded stone roller balls, the sockets of which are still visible. The sitelllllpp is comfortably covered by a shade structure to make viewing it less of a blast furnace. The main temple features intricate stone carvings and was likely used for religious ceremonies. Archaeological discoveries there include the famous “Venus of Malta” figurines and evidence of animal sacrifice. What makes Ħaġar Qim particularly fascinating is its astronomical alignment – the temple’s main entrance faces southeast toward the sunrise during the summer solstice. The complex also offers stunning views of the Mediterranean Sea and the small island of Filfla. It’s now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has a modern visitor center with exhibits explaining Malta’s temple period. I was very interested in the site, so I grabbed my trekking poles and walked it with the tour. It is interesting to note that there are a total of 24 of these sorts of temple sites on Malta, spanning 1,000 years (as best they can be dated, since stone cannot be carbon-dated) and yet there are none of these sorts of temples on Sicily, a mere 60 miles away on the horizon. That suggests that Malta was considered a sacred place in Neolithic times.
After Ħaġar Qim, we headed for the Blue Grotto, which is not unlike the site of the same name on the island of Capri off Naples. This is basically a series of grottos and caves in the limestone cliffs that can be accessed by boat and create a spectacular view of the crystal-clear and blue waters that surround Malta. It’s a must-do on the tourist list when visiting Malta. The Blue Grotto (Il-Ħnejja tal-Ħamrija in Maltese) is one of Malta’s most spectacular natural attractions, located on the southern coast near the fishing village of Wied iż-Żurrieq. It’s actually a system of several sea caves carved into the limestone cliffs, famous for their brilliant blue illumination created by sunlight passing through underwater caverns and reflecting off the sandy sea floor. The main grotto reaches about 40 meters deep, and the electric blue glow is most vivid during morning hours when the sun is positioned just right. We took a traditional Maltese boat (called a luzzu) from Wied iż-Żurrieq harbor. The boat trip lasted 20-25 minutes and cost only around €8-10 per person. The boatman was skilled at navigating through the narrow cave entrances and demonstrated the incredible echo acoustics inside. There was no need for a shady bench for me, though I did pay the €1.5 to get a golf cart ride back up the steep hill to the parking place.
From there we went to the quaint fishing village of Marsaxlokk for lunch with a view of the harbor. The final stops included the Malta prehistoric and archaeological Għar Dalam cave, Malta’s most important prehistoric site in Birżebbuġa, containing fossils dating back 180,000 years including dwarf elephants and hippos. Malta’s limestone geology makes it perfect for cave formation. It was there that I found my first shady bench of the day while the group walked down into the cave. I love our tour guide, Stephen, because he seems to understand my needs very well. As he agreed, you see one cave, you’ve seen them all and Għar Dalam, while a perfect example of such a cave, is less significant in its viewing than in what was found there, which were the remains of what seem to be the first people to arrive on Malta. Located in Birżebbuġa in the southeast, the name Ghar Dalam literally means “Cave of Darkness” in Maltese. The cave extends about 144 meters into the hillside and contains two distinct layers of deposits. The lower bone layer dates back around 180,000 years and contains fossils of extinct animals that once roamed Malta when it was connected to Sicily – including dwarf elephants, dwarf hippos, giant swans, and cave bears. The upper cultural layer shows evidence of the first human inhabitants arriving around 7,400 years ago. The site also has a modern museum displaying many of the fossil finds, reconstructions of the extinct animals, and artifacts from Malta’s earliest settlers. The bone layer is visible along the cave walls, showing the incredible stratification of different time periods. Għar Dalam essentially tells the story of how Malta’s unique ecosystem developed in isolation and how the first humans adapted to island life. It’s fascinating to think you’re looking at evidence of Malta’s “lost world” of giant prehistoric animals. And to think…I’ve written all this while sitting in the shade on a bench while my gang stares at a dirt wall in a damp cave…