Farewell Malta - Hello Portland - Coming soon Philadelphia

Click here for photos from our final days in Malta, along with some highlights from the weeks Jake and Emily were with us and working as summer hires at the Embassy. 

As part of our transition back to the U.S., we got to spend two weeks in Portland with Drew, Jake, and Emily. Click here for photos from our walks around Mt. Tabor, mushroom hunting in the Tillamook Forest, hanging out in Drew's ceramics studio, dinner with friends, and more. We arrived in Portland when the city was experiencing hazardous air quality due to wildfires, but thankfully rain cleared the air part way through our time together. 

Next stop, Philadelphia. 

Final Days in Malta - from the Blue Grotto to Gozo's Inland Sea

It's our last week in Malta - a week that coincides with two holidays, Labor Day and Maltese Victory Day. We spent the long weekend revisiting some favorite places - Malta's Blue Grotto, Comino's Crystal Bay, and Gozo's Citadel and Inland Sea. Click here for photos. 

We had a lovely, albeit it choppy, sail to Comino on Sunday, then took the ferry over to Gozo on Monday. Jake free-dove to 60 feet in Gozo's Blue Hole, located by the Inland Sea and Azure Window - a sea arch that unfortunately collapsed a few years ago in a storm, just after Game of Thrones filmed an episode there. The clear, deep water makes the Blue Hole a great place to snorkel, and the cliffs just above it were a great spot to take photos.

Emily and Pat also got a couple of dives in this past week. Click here for photos.

Meanwhile back in the Pacific Northwest, Drew and Grace spent Labor Day Weekend enjoying Washington's lovely Lake Chelan. Click here for photos. This time next week, we are excited to have everyone together for the first time since Christmas!

Sicily

We traveled by ferry from Malta to Sicily for a long weekend visit to Mt. Etna and the Ionian Coast. Our stops included Noto, Syracuse, Ortegia, Taormina (pictured below), and Etna while basing ourselves from a lovely agriturismo in Giarre with a view of the volcano (pictured above). Several photo albums are linked below, with highlights from our trip. 

Mt. Etna was by far the best part of our trip, not to mention a refreshing break from the summer heat. We visited twice in order to really explore. On our second trip, we took a cable car to 2500 meters, then hiked up to 2900 meters for views of the crater. We could hear the volcano rumbling and see rocks being tossed in the air amid the steam. Thankfully we got an early start the day we went to the top, because clouds rolled in by Noon, obscuring the view.  By the times we got off the mountain a thunder storm had rolled in. 

Taormina was stunning, but driving there was terrifying - despite the fact that we've gotten used to narrow, winding roadways in Malta. Built into a steep hillside, the roads in Taormina were like switchbacks on a hiking trail. We enjoyed the town much more once the car was parked, and we were on foot. 

Photo Album Links: 

• Syracusa and Ortegia
• Taormina
• Mt. Etna
• Noto, Giarre, Misc.

We wish Drew was with us, but alas he is back in Oregon. Click here for a few photos from a backpacking trip he and Grace took to Eastern Oregon earlier this month. 

One last thing from our time in Sicily - Granita! Silician Almond Granita is a delicious treat served for breakfast and as a snack throughout the day.  We're experimenting with making it at home, using the following basic recipe:

1.5 cups ground almonds

0.5 cups powdered sugar

2 T sugar

3 cups almond milk (regular milk is fine too)

a few drops of almond oil

Freeze mixture for an hour or two, until the top layer has solidified a bit. Scrap using a fork; repeat every hour for 3 hours, adding more almond milk as needed to achieve an icy, but smooth texture. Scrap again before serving.

Blue Grotto

 

The twins arrived in Malta in mid-July, and after our two weeks of quarantine, we were finally able to get out and about with them. Among our first stops was the Blue Grotto. Click here for photos. 

Two Weekends by Sea

We kayaked around, under, and through the Blue Grotto last weekend. Click here for photos.

This weekend, we sailed with Sail Malta from Sliema to Three Cities, then south to Marsaxlokk's scenic cliffs - cliffs we have enjoyed hiking on many times, but today was our first chance to enjoy them from the water's point of view.  Click here for photos.

Meanwhile back in Portland, we sad and alarmed to see the way the city is being portrayed by some media outlets; and to see so many peaceful protestors under attack by forces with questionable intentions. 

• https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2020/07/feds-right-wing-media-paint-portland-as-city-under-siege-a-tour-of-town-shows-otherwise.html
• https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/07/trumps-weaponization-of-dhs-sets-off-alarm-bells?mbid=social_twitter&utm_brand=vf&utm_social-type=owned

The Great Wall of Malta

Malta reopened its airport on July 1, after 3 months. To celebrate, fireworks companies from all over the island coordinated fireworks displays to welcome the return of tourism. We viewed one of the displays on Sliema's Manoel Island from our kayak.  Click here for photos. 

We also hiked an especially scenic section of the Victoria Lines recently. Click here for photos. The photo above is often referred to as the Great Wall of Malta. Our hiking opportunities will become more limited in the weeks ahead, since the weather is getting really hot and dry. Thank goodness for sea breezes. 

Father's Day on Comino

We spent Father's Day on the island of Comino. Comino is accessible by a short ferry ride from Cirkewwa on Malta's northern tip. It's home to just 3 full-time residents and popular because of its famous Blue Lagoon.  Click here for photos. 

Though it was a lovely day, it would have been better if the 3 people pictured below (Father's Day circa 2011 in Key Largo, Florida) could have joined us!