March 4. Malta.

Today's stop was Malta, the smallest independent island in the world. The population is only 600,000 and this is almost double what the population was when Malta joined the European Union in 2004. Tourism is the main economic engine. They also have a lot of online gambling, banking, etc. type of businesses because of the tax laws and the fact that though Maltese is the main language, English is also an official language of the country and everyone speaks it. Malta's only exports are potatoes to Holland and Bluefin Tuna to Japan. 

We had a private tour and our guide Raymond was amazing. He took us all over the island. At its widest point it is 9 miles by 13 miles. It is known for having been ruled by just about everyone... including the Romans, Moors, Knights of St. John, French and finally British from 1800-1964. They still drive on the "wrong" side of the road because of that... So Penny got to experience that on this trip. They have only been independent since 1964. Their language is very interesting because Maltese is a unique Semitic language with strong Sicilian-Italian and English influences, written in the Latin alphabet. 

We worked our way all around the island. We started at the old fisherman's village, then went to the Megalithic Temples, the oldest standing building in the world, that were built between 3600 and 2500 B.C. They were ruins, but it was interesting that we could walk through them and the walls were still in place so we could make out the various areas and rooms. We also went to the highest point in Malta to look over the picturesque rock cliffs over the blue sea. We had some time at the end of the tour to spend in Valletta, the capitol and another Unesco World Heritage site. It is again just so unique to see this city that was built in the 1500s that has stores and apartments and normal life in and among these structures that were built so long ago.  

Raymond had a few funny sayings... Every time we got to our next stop on the tour he would say, "Hail Mary, Full of Grace, Let me Find a Parking Place". We also went over speed humps often and he said they called those the "sleeping policeman".

 

 

 

When we were back on the ship, it was gala night. We put on our (slightly) fancier cloths and headed out to the champagne bar, had a drink and then to our dinner. The highlight of the night was going to the secret speakeasy on board. It was super fun. We had heard about it before coming onboard and got the reservation. At the appointed time we went to what looked like just a traditional red London phone booth and dialed the number. Someone opened the back of the phone booth and took us down two floors in the crew area to "Jack's Place", a super themed little space for a few dozen people that was decorated with lots of stuff from the 20s and 30s. We had fancy cocktails and listened to the two different jazzy groups that rotated through. It was a memorable experience. Then we headed to the Gin Project bar to wrap up the night. Sea day is tomorrow, so that means sleeping in and relaxing.