Last day - Zabbar, Marsaskala & Marsaxlokk

Our last day in Malta and after the previous eight days of activity we wanted an easier one so explored Zabbar where we were staying and then took a bus back to Marsaskala & Marsaxlokk.

The flags were out as the next day was Easter Friday and they take Easter, Catholicism and religion seriously in Malta.

I wondered if the driver of this car thought he would only get into a little bit of trouble if he parked only part of his car in the "Reserved for Police" bay?

All the police stations we saw had these old fashioned blue lamps outside.

Three men whiling away the afternoon on the dock of the bay.

Someone who actually managed to succeed at something they saw on Pinterest?

We met a man walking 5 teacup chihuahuas. Cat was clearly smitten.

And this little pup was very happy.

Fisherman mending nets on the harbour side in Marsaxlokk.

Street art.

Beautiful ironwork and distressed decay was everywhere on Malta.

More preparations for the Easter celebrations.

A lot of the houses had Easter displays in their windows.

Marsalforn & Scuba Diving

Marsalforn is a small town around a quiet bay. There wasn't an enormous amount to see here, we mostly took it easy as we knew that we would have a hectic afternoon with the scuba diving.

It was a beautiful day.

 

All kitted up and ready to go. I am wearing about 20kg of equipment in this picture and whilst I'm smiling it was uncomfortable and my back was grumbling all the time. It was great fun and I wasn't particularly good at it - hampered by a mask that didn't fit well so kept filling with water but I did enjoy and would like to try again in warmer water as the cold caused me to ache a bit and I had to give up in the end and plead exhaustion.

On the way to the ferry back to Malta main island we saw this half a house... the whole side was missing as the property next door had been demolished.

There was chaos at the ferry port, we missed one ferry, the departure terminal was packed and we had a taxi booked to pick us up the other side. Luckily we let them know we were catching the next ferry.

Beautiful sunset as we arrived back in Cirkewwa - this picture really didn't do the colours justice.

The ferry left 30 minutes late so there was some anxious moments as we wondered if the taxi was waiting but it was. 

Comino and The Blue Lagoon

We had planned two days on Comino and Gozo. Comino for one day then on to Gozo to stay overnight and scuba diving the next day. So after almost two hours on travelling from Zabbar to Cirkewwa we arrived at the ferry port for our boat ride to Comino.

This was our ferry to Comino. I was expecting a bigger boat! 

Comino Tower - we planned to visit once we docked.

Beautiful coastal caves and rock formations.

First glimpse of the blue lagoon.

No editing, it really is this colour.

This is the tiny beach at the Blue Lagoon - this was far from peak season so I cannot imagine how awful this place must be when it is really busy.

This is the old cholera hospital - we wanted to explore more but the four permanent residents on Comino live here.

I did however take the time to sit on the rusty cannon in the courtyard.

We then climbed a little further up the hill to Comino Tower.

Fabulous views from the top!

Me sat on the edge of the cliff enjoying the gorgeous scenery.

Cat sat in the same spot as me.

After a tiring day we headed on a boat to Gozo and a taxi to Marsalforn where we were staying for one night. 

Cat found her idea of heaven, a cafe that sold only sweets!

Marsaskala, some Urb-Exp and more...

We wanted to visit Saint Thomas' Tower but it was closed, however we wandered around it and saw what looked like a derelict building. Curiousity got the better of us so we looked a little closer.

Met a couple of cats on the way - one was friendlier than the other - they looked like litter mates.

Give a cat a box, even a stray one, and they will sit in it.

Someone gave this kitty a bed - he seemed quite comfy.

A little research we found out the building used to be the Corinthia Jerma Palace Hotel. A former 4* hotel that opened in 1982 but closed in 2007. The land was owned by the Libyan Foreign Investment Company and the hotel was managed by Corinthia Hotels International. Muammar Gaddafi had a Presidential Suite in the hotel, though we didn't find evidence of it on our wanderings. The hotel is scheduled for demolition but no date has been set yet. There have been several fires in the building, there are soot marks in lots of places in some of the ceilings and roof have collapsed. This is one photograph of it burning several years ago.

What we did find was some quite fabulous grafitti.

Gollum on one of the outside walls.

The detail was amazing.

This piece was on three separate walls/columns but formed one piece when aligned correctly.

This skull on two different columns.

This eye also in the fire-scarred main lobby.

Boiler room of some kind? This was in the basement.

Another basement room - no idea what it was originally, it has been gutted for anything of value.

More grafitti on the ground floor.

The former indoor pool.

The outdoor pool.

The outdoor pool would have had fabulous views over the Mediterranean, it was a windy day when we were there however so seemed a little inhospitable.

More grafitti.

The only scorpion we saw, though there are real scorpions on Malta.

One of the bathrooms, completely gutted.

Looking along one of the corridors from end to centre.

These looked like fire exit stairs that we used to explore the upper floors.

Tennis court in a rather sorry state.

The corridors higher up had more light.

Peering down the lift shaft from the top floor.

The central staircase - we opted not to use this as it was unsheltered and it was very windy.

View from one of the balconies here you can see the damage caused by one of the fires.

Top floor and yet more artwork.

Still some of the carpet left in this corridor.

The roof, though again we didn't venture far due to the wind. Six stories up - shame it wasn't better weather as I'm sure the views would have been fabulous.

Back in the basement, remnants of old televisions.

Parts of an laundry maybe?

One of the mirrors - not much good for doing your make up anymore.

Back to the main lobby for some panoramic shots

And this is what it used to look like in it's glory days.

Lobby

Outdoor Pool

Indoor Pool

One of the rooms  - it looks like they all had balconies and as it was on a headland, most had sea views.

After that we wandered back into Marsaskala and found this charity shop. I fell in love with the vintage furniture.

Panoramic view of the Marsaskala sea front, we walked from the hotel to the headland on the other side of the harbour.

Beautiful cat hiding under a boat.

The Jerma Palace from further away.

Abandoned? property on the way to the headland.

Another panoramic shot (I probably take too many of these).

On the way to the tower on headland.

Wildflowers on the clifftop.

Another cat we saw back in Marsaskala.

And this old beast that looked like it was still used.