Corinne CrawfordMy boat tour was cancelled again on Saturday and rescheduled for Sunday, but the forecast looked cold and rainy, and I really wanted the full swimming-and-sunshine Blue Lagoon experience. So I skipped it entirely.
I guess I’ll just have to come back to Malta someday.
The following day was my last in the apartment before moving to a hostel for my final two nights. I would have happily stayed longer, but the apartment was already booked.
After dropping my bags at the hostel, I planned to visit what had been described as a large local farmers market. Once again, Malta’s buses intervened. After waiting with a growing crowd for nearly fifteen minutes without a single bus appearing, I abandoned the plan and stopped by a pharmacy instead because my throat was getting scratchy and I felt pressure in my ears.
One interesting thing I learned is that Maltese pharmacies function almost like mini urgent care clinics. Pharmacists explained that if my symptoms worsened, many pharmacies have general practitioners available who can prescribe medication or provide medical advice for around $25.
As an American, this was difficult not to compare to home.
Malta’s healthcare system is largely public, and higher education is also heavily subsidized. A local told me students can even receive stipends while studying abroad, though I never confirmed the details. Malta also feels remarkably safe. I saw very little visible poverty or homelessness during my time there. One local joked that someone once claimed there were fifty homeless people in Malta, so the community simply pooled resources and housed them all. Whether entirely true or not, it reflects the small-island mentality that seems to exist there.
Eventually I gave up on public transportation and ordered a Bolt to Ta’ Qali Farmers Market. Unfortunately, the market itself was underwhelming — mostly produce stalls without many local artisan products. I had been hoping to find Maltese honey, one of the island’s traditional specialties. In fact, many believe the name “Malta” derives from the ancient Greek word meli, meaning honey, because the island was famous for its honey production in antiquity.
Since I was already nearby, I walked to Mosta to visit the Rotunda of Mosta. The church is famous for its enormous unsupported dome, one of the largest in Europe, but even more famous for the “Miracle of Mosta.” During World War II, a German bomb crashed through the dome while hundreds of people attended Mass — and remarkably failed to explode.
After lunch, I returned to Valletta to revisit St. John’s Co-Cathedral. I had actually visited during my previous trip but only remembered once I walked inside. Still, it was absolutely worth seeing again. The plain exterior hides one of the most ornate church interiors imaginable, filled with gold leaf, marble tombs, and elaborate Baroque decoration built by the Knights of St. John to display their wealth and power.
I also toured the Grand Master’s Palace, where the armory was particularly impressive. The collection spans from the arrival of the Knights in the 1500s through the 1700s and includes suits of armor, swords, firearms, and ceremonial weapons. It really drives home how strategically important Malta was in the Mediterranean for centuries.
After wandering through the Upper Barrakka Gardens overlooking the harbor, I returned to the hostel, changed clothes, grabbed a casual dinner, and later had a drink at a local bar called Hole in the Wall. I was exhausted and back in bed by 10 p.m.
