Magical Mystery Tour

Serafina
Rob & Sarah Bell
Sun 25 Jul 2010 18:06
Saturday 24th July
Very sorry about the curious ? marks that have replaced all the inverted
commas etc. We have found that certain wifi systems do not enable us to
send emails from Outlook, so I have to use my webmail which has this
glitch. I am sure you are all quite capable of understanding it all anyway
– assuming you are still awake!
Firstly a quick welcome to all the readers of the Scott Free blog as I
understand that Chris has not posted any information for a while and she
has suggested that you can find out what they are up to at the moment via
us!
Saturday dawned a bit breezy and this soon picked up to a full blown gale
which was of no threat to us securely moored downwind to a pontoon, BUT it
did produce a big dust storm from the neighbouring empty boat park which
has covered Serafina in a thick layer of dust on the outside and sadly on
the inside as well as we had to keep hatches etc. open through the day
regardless.
In the morning we met Jackson and Rico off ‘Apparition’ who are an
American couple who Steve and Chris got to know last winter when they were
all based in Marmaris. They are also heading for the Caribbean (but they
hail from there, so we are hoping to do some serious brain-picking re
routes etc) but we did not know that they were in the area, but they heard
us call Scott Free on the VHF radio and butted in to ask where we all
were moored.
Casual day spent mostly trying to catch up with paperwork and the like,
but at 4.00 pm we took delivery of the hire car that the four of us have
booked for two days in order to get to see more of Malta. Our first outing
was at 5.30 pm when we set off for Zurrieq which is a town in the south
west corner. I should explain that Malta is a fairly fanatical Catholic
country and so every weekend right through the summer there are several
feasts or festivals each weekend held in one town or another celebrating
one saint or another. So tonight was the culmination of a week’s
festivities in Zurrieq which we had been told featured a big fireworks
display. If Malta is keen on anything beyond religion then it has to be
fireworks and thunder-flashes which can be heard throughout the day, every
day. We had an interesting and very scenic tour in search of this town
partly because our tourist road map was rather low on information and
partly because road signs appear to be optional. Having missed any number
of turnings, Steve who was navigating (with an inadequate map and no
glasses to read it with) declared that we were going to go “Off Piste”
which was fine until the road became almost a track and we found ourselves
in an African refugee camp! Nevertheless we continued past this and duly
arrived in the correct town. We parked the car and wandered off to find
the town centre and check about the festivities. The time was 7.00 pm and
it was still broad daylight and the leaflet we had suggested that the
fireworks would not begin until 11.00 pm. We found the centre of the town
and were amazed to find that the main square was full of huge (50 ft high)
Catherine wheels of various shapes and sizes and that there were dozens of
catering vans and all the usual traders that follow public events. We
wandered through the centre and out to a main road beyond looking for a
bar or cafe where we could sit down, have a drink and a bite to eat, but
everywhere seemed closed except for the vans, until we happened upon a
tiny bar that was cashing in on the expected crowds and had set up extra
tables in the street and was offering take away food. We sat down at a
spare table and ordered up beers and some food which quickly arrived. The
only slight catch at this stage was that there were huge mortars firing
fireworks and thunder-flashes into the sky just upwind of us and the sound
was truly deafening , almost painful and the effect was a little lost as
it was still sunny! What we did not know was that we had a ringside seat
for the main aerial display and by the time we had our third or fourth
round of drinks (Steve and me) the town was packed solid with people and
darkness had fallen. Around 9.45 pm the display started and although there
were some notable highlights, the overall effect was not too wonderful as
there seemed no pattern or urgency and so the event seemed to drag on a
bit. By 11.30 pm it was still happening but we were quite cold from the
strong wind that was still blowing hard, so we vacated our seats and
headed back to the town centre and the host of massive Catherine wheels
which were due to follow at some stage. We met two large brass bands that
were parading slowly through the streets and when they finally finished
playing competitive tunes we discovered that the main fireworks display
was only just about to begin! We had a great view from where we were now
standing and the whole show, set to deafening music blasting from huge
sets of speakers all around the town (never mind the fireworks
themselves), was quite outstanding and the finale which went off seemingly
almost overhead was the finest I have ever witnessed. There then was a
delay whilst the crowds watching from various vantage points around the
town made their way to the centre where we were. They then had to clear
the crowd out of the main square where all these huge bits of machinery
were placed, as a sop to H & S (to a mere 30 foot away and downwind, in
the gale-like conditions!). Finally the last part of the display got under
way around midnight and the Catherine wheels were unbelievable. Never mind
ones that go round and round, these things did the most wondrous displays
and were utterly incredible. Of course our photos were useless and do no
justice to it all, but it is a memory we will hold for a long time.
Sunday morning started a bit early when an Italian motorboat moored up in
the slot beside us and they were struggling to get lines ashore until we
emerged to help.
At 10.30 am Steve, Chris, Sarah and I set off again in the hire car to
explore more of the island on what was to become something of a mystery
tour and headed north first finally settling on Mellieha as a suitable
spot for a late lunch. We visited any number of coves, bays and villages
along the way and after lunch headed off southwards (this is a tiny island
so it does not take long to cross) and chanced upon the old capital Mdina
(yes this is the correct spelling!). What a wonderful place it is perched
on a hill top and completely unspoilt in any way at all. It was certainly
the highlight of a very good day out. We eventually found our way back to
the marina and Sarah’s day was finally crowned when she had a long skype
call from Ewan who had just got home safely after 9 months away
travelling.
The wind had died down a bit by the early evening but still the air
reverberated to the sound of yet more fireworks in the area around us, but
as it was still light there was nothing to see!