Sunday 27th May 2018.......the last road trip!!!

Today was the last day with the car and we headed out after breakfast to what the tourist books say is a lovely coastal town that holds a huge market every Sunday and the pretty harbour is filled with Luzzu!!!!!!!

From the internet..

If you take a trip to any one of Malta’s seaside villages you will immediately notice a large number of colourful boats floating in the water – and lots of eyes staring at you!  These colourful boats are known as the Maltese luzzu, and they date back to the time of the ancient Phoenicians.  

Luzzus are essentially traditional fishing boats.  They are typically painted in traditional bright colours including blue, yellow, red and green.  You can normally spot a rather large number of luzzus in Malta’s seaside villages, including Marsaxlokk and Marsascala on the south side of the island, or St Paul’s Bay on the north.  These brightly coloured fishing boats often create a postcard-perfect scene on the beautiful and clear Mediterranean Sea surrounding the islands.

Due its stable, sturdy and reliable nature, the design of the luzzu dates back to the Phoenician times.  In fact, the luzzu can be used both in good and in bad weather conditions.  The boats normally have a double-ended hull and are built using wood.  During the Phoencian times, the luzzu used to be smaller and used to be equipped with sails.  However, this is not the case anymore as nowadays most luzzus are slightly larger, motorized and work with a diesel engine.  Other than that, the design and style of the luzzu nowadays is very similar to the ones used in ancient times.

Just like in the ancient times, luzzus are nowadays most commonly used as fishing boats.  However, in addition to being used as fishing boats, luzzus are sometimes used as passenger carriers for visitors to the Maltese islands.

There is quite a lot of superstition surrounding the luzzu, the most prominent of them all being the painted or engraved pair of eyes on the front of the boat.  These eyes are believed to be a modern survival of an old Phoenician tradition, and are normally referred to as the Eye of Orisis, or the Eye of Horus – the Phoenicians’ god of protection from evil. They are a symbol of protection and good health, and are believed to protect the fishermen from any harm while they are out at sea.

In addition to this, luzzus are normally inherited from a person’s father and grandfather.  However, although the exact colours of each luzzu vary from one another, the colours of each luzzu are normally kept exactly the same due to superstitious belief.  Therefore, when the old paint is completely stripped off the boat every five years, in order for the fisherman to closely inspect his boat for anything that needs to be replaced, the boat is then re-painted in exactly the same colours that the person’s father and grandfather

Well here are some shots and to be quite honest I found the harbour to be nice but not the nicest we had seen on the trip and for me walking around the many stalls filled with cheap junk and being stepped on by hordes of tourists is not my cup of tea.

I walked a bit further out of town and this is what kids love to do on a Sunday morning..

We found another quiet bay and sat on a bench overlooking the blue water and had lunch before returning to the apartment mid afternoon.

The last four days had been non stop was it was good to relax at home..do some reading.....some sleeping  and sunbathing by the roof top pool!!!

We had been told of a rather new tourist attraction and J & M saw it the other day but I had not so I put on my hiking shoes and walked about 2 km down the promenade 

and saw this!!!

From the local news...

In his seafaring experience spanning a quarter of a century, Joynal Abedin admits he never experienced the sort of weather conditions that drove his bunkering vessel aground at Qawra Point on Saturday.

“As we realised that the wind was picking up, I asked the Maltese authorities for permission to seek shelter closer to shore,” the captain of the 885-tonne Hephaestus told the Times of Malta on Sunday.

“I started the engine and began preparing to navigate the vessel inland, but all of a sudden – within minutes – we hit the rocks,” Capt. Abedin said.

At the time, Malta was engulfed by a thunderstorm and northerly Force 6 to 7 winds.

As fate would have it, the ship ran aground not far from the site where St Paul and St Luke are believed to have been shipwrecked about 2,000 years ago. It also happened to be the day that Malta celebrates the Feast of St Paul Shipwrecked.

The Togo-registered vessel kept hitting hard rocks, pounded by the mighty waves, sending Capt. Abedin flying, hurting his shoulder in the process.

“Nobody can fight Mother Nature, and we thank God we are safe. I have never experienced anything similar, not even when navigating much rougher seas,” he said.

The five Bangladeshi and two Russian crew members, who had been out at sea for some four months, had spent the last month or so waiting authorisation to ‘sign off’, get their salary and head back home.

The Hephaestus ran aground not far from where St Paul is believed to have been shipwrecked. 

The Maltese maritime authorities said the tanker had no cargo and there was no risk of pollution. It was carrying four cubic metres of fuel, but Environment and Resources Authority officials monitoring the site said there was no risk of it seeping out.

We had another great meal at our now local restaurant and were home by 9 pm to play the big Scrabble game....all the games are close and what can I say???

Tomorrow is our last full day I don’t even want to think about the time we have to get up for our flight on Tuesday.......so I am doing a big hike tomorrow and the kids will do a shorter local walk....stay tuned!!

Yashi Kochi!!!