Things to do in Malta in Summer

If you're visiting Malta in summer you may be tempted to spend your days at the beach. But Malta has a lot more to offer during the summer months than sun, sea and sand. So I have compiled a list of ordinary and not so ordinary things that you can do in Malta during the summer months.

1.Catch up on the latest music at the Isle of MTV concert

Although this event is aimed at the young, you will still find several older people among the audience. This concert has been held in Malta since 2006 so, this year, it will be celebrating it's tenth edition. Usually held at the end of June, this year's concert will take place on the 28th of June (the eve of a public holiday) at the usual venue - the Granaries in Floriana. This year's line-up includes Jess Glynne, Wiz Khalifa, Steve Aoki and Malta's own Airport Impressions. The concert starts at 6.30pm. General admission is free. More information here.

2. Keep yourself cool with an ice-cream from Amorino

Amorino is one of the latest ice-cream parlours to open up in Malta but it is definitely one of my favourites. The ice-cream flavours are distinct and delicious, with my personal favourites being chocolate and amarena.

Apart from ice-creams, Amorino also has a good selection of sorbets, ice-creams macarons and other sweet treats.

Amorino, 36 Republic Street, Valletta

3. Go for a swim

This suggestion, of course, is a no-brainer. There is no better way to cool down than to take a swim in the turquoise-blue waters for which this island is so renowned. There are a number of beaches that are easily accessible by public transport, so it is not necessary to hire your own car to get to them. While sandy beaches are generally more popular, the scenery at rocky beaches usually tends to be more spectacular. Bear in mind that all beaches will be crowded on Sundays and public holidays.

Popular sandy beaches: Ghadira, Golden Bay, Paradise Bay, Gnejna, Pretty Bay.

Popular rocky beaches: Ghar Lapsi, Sliema seafront, St Peter's Pool (this bay is not easily accessible), Bahar ic-Caghaq.

4. Watch the sun set

Hot summer days ensure that sunsets are particularly fiery and the sun paints the sky with a variety of colours before disappearing over the horizon. You can catch a good sunset from anywhere along the western coast. You can read about three of the best places to enjoy sunsets here.

Sunset at Gnejna Bay

5. Take a harbour cruise

Harbour cruises are a great way of  learning about the history of Grand Harbour and the cities that surround it, of seeing the scenery from a different perspective and of keeping cool - the moving boats ensure this.

Most harbour cruises depart from Tigne Seafront (the Ferries) in Sliema.

Popular harbour cruises are organised by Captain Morgan and Luzzu Cruises.

Prices start from 16 EUR for adults and 13 EUR for children.

6. Experience the mystique of the summer solstice at the Neolithic temples of Mnajdra or Hagar Qim

Heritage Malta organises tours at the temples of Mnajdra and Hagar Qim on the day of the summer solstice. During these tours, visitors will be able to experience for themselves the beauty and mystery of these ancient temples that are considered to be amongst the oldest man-made structures in the world.

Admission to these tours is €25.00.

More information may be found on the Heritage Malta website. This event usually takes place on June 20th and 21st.

7. Attend a festa

If exuberant religious celebrations, fireworks and band marches are your thing, attending a festa is an experience not to be missed. These celebrations in honour of the patron saint of a town or village take place every weekend from the beginning of May till mid-September. The festa season culminates in mid-August when seven villages in Malta and two in Gozo celebrate the feast of the Assumption of Mary.

It would be good to keep in mind that a festa is not for the faint-hearted. The bangs from the fireworks are ear-shattering, the church bells ring non-stop, the air is thick with the smell of sulphur and the streets will be crowded. This is one celebration that you will either love or hate.

8. Spend a night with the most famous bard of them all at San Anton Palace gardens

Every year, the popular theatre group MADC performs one of William Shakespeare's plays at San Anton Palace gardens. San Anton gardens surround the palace that was built as a summer residence for the Grand  Masters by Grand Master Antoine de Paule. Today it is the official residence of the President of Malta.

This year, MADC will be performing the popular comedy 'A Midsummer's Night Dream'. Performances will take place between the 15th and 24th of July.

9. Discover your favourite wine at a Wine Festival

Two of the major wine producers in Malta, Marsovin and Delicata, organise a wine festival during the summer months.

The Marsovin Wine Festival usually takes place at Hastings Garden (Valletta). This year it will be held between July 15th and 17th from 8pm to 1 am.

The Delicata Wine Festival will celebrate it's 15th anniversary at its usual venue, the Upper Barrakka Gardens in Valletta. This wine festival will take place between the 4th and 7th August from 7pm till midnight.

The venues for both wine festivals offer fantastic views of Marsamxett Harbour and  Grand Harbour respectively. A variety of food will also be on sale and a number of local bands and musicians will provide entertainment throughout the night. However, without a doubt, the star of both festivals will be the wine.

10. If your taste in music is a bit more eclectic be sure not to miss the Malta Jazz Festival

The Malta Jazz Festival, organised by the Malta Arts Council, is now in its  26th edition. It usually features well-known artists in this genre - and this year is no exception. A variety of styles will be represented by the most significant bands and musicians in this sector. This year's performers include Snarky Puppy, Omer Avital, Mike Stern and Bill Evans. 

The Best Places To Enjoy Sunsets

It’s almost June and summer is practically at our doorstep. Warm weather and mostly-cloudless skies are synonymous with Mediterranean summers  - perfect conditions for spectacular and fiery sunsets.The western coastline of Malta is, for obvious reasons, a great place to choose to watch the setting sun (if you’re into that sort of thing, of course). What makes this coastline even more suited to this particular activity, apart from its location, is the un-spoilt, natural beauty of this part of the island. Towering cliffs, plunging valleys, tiny coves, sandy beaches and all sorts of caves and inlets provide a quiet (depending on the season) and often romantic spot from where to watch one of Nature’s daily shows that we so often take for granted. The following is a list of my 3 favourite spots:

Dingli Cliffs

These mighty cliffs plunge 250 metres into the watery depths and are the perfect perch from where to watch sunsets. Weekend nights may be a bit crowded but during the week they are a haven for all those seeking a peaceful spot.

Ghar Lapsi (Lapsi’s Cave)

This little cove on the outskirts of the town of Siggiewi is a popular bathing spot with those that like rocky beaches. The best place to watch the sunset is not down in the cove itself but from the rocks that tower above.

Gnejna Bay (pronounced Jineyna)

Deserted in winter, this small bay is usually quite crowded during the summer months but, by sunset, most of the people will have already left, leaving a few stragglers, like myself, who prefer the beach at this time of day. As the sun gets lower in the sky, it moves to the left side of the bay and sets behind the rocks. The burn-off from the sun and the jagged silhouette of the rocks creates a wonderful play of shadow and light that I never get bored of looking at.

Summer Is Calling

Just chilling out a bit. Forgive my absence. I’ll be back soon.

Gnejna Bay

August 2011

Sandstorms – The Birth Pangs of Summer

This is what the weather looked like today.

The clouds are full of sand which travels across the Mediterranean all the way from the Sahara desert on the wings of strong winds. Known as the scirocco, this wind is usually warm and rather clammy as the hot desert air travels northward and picks up moisture from the sea. When it gets here, some rain falls. Big orange drops, which quickly dry up leaving spots over everything that is left outside.

Sandstorms,

thunderstorms,

dusty rain,

gale force winds,

overcast skies,

rough seas,

warm days,

cool nights -

all herald the birth of balmy summer days.

Ruby Tuesday: Summer Fruit

Plums and nectarines from my uncle’s trees – one of the blessings of our summer. Our fruit may not look perfect and it is often not very big, but each bite is a delight to the senses as the sweetness oozes out  and washes over the taste buds leaving you wanting more. Too soon the local season for plums and nectarines will be over and we will be left with the bland supermarket offerings – perhaps nicer to look at but definitely nowhere near as delicious.

For more Ruby Tuesdays go to Mary at Work of the Poet.

When The Capers Bloom

From mid-June to early July you will see people picking the caper buds that grow on wild bushes in the countryside. If you have never eaten capers, it is very hard to describe what they taste like. When first picked from the bushes they have a bland taste but after they are pickled in brine or vinegar (or a mixture of both) they will develop a sharp, tangy taste.

Photo source 

When I was a young girl I often used to go and cut capers with my parents, but especially with my father. Even as I write this I can feel the heat of the sun drenched rocks and the silence enveloping everything – broken only by the shrill screech of some lonely cicada (some years they start their ‘singing’ early depending on how hot the weather is). The grass would be dry beneath our feet but, in the fields, we would discern the blush of peaches and plums through the leaves. It always felt good to be out there in the valleys, enjoying a glimpse of some shy lizard that happened to cross our path and delighting in the sight of butterflies and dragonflies dancing and dipping over our heads.

Photo source 

The caper buds do not last very long and soon the buds will bloom into beautiful little flowers. It is then, when the capers bloom, that the heat seems to intensify and summer hits us in full force with its fiery breath.

The weeks ahead are an endless mesh of scorching hot days and balmy nights as the caper flowers wither and their beauty fades. But every time I add the caper buds to our sauces or our food, their tangy, aromatic taste takes me right back to my childhood, to the parched fields and the butterflies and to the time when the capers bloom.

  

You can go here and here for more information on capers and their use in different recipes.

The Blue Lagoon

Crystal clear blue water ... A cool refreshing swim in the deep sea ... If I had a choice where to spend summer it would be here. On the shore of this turquoise sea.

This is our own little portion of paradise, pathetically tiny, when compared to what the world has to offer. But this little gem is all ours.

Unfortunately, it does tend to get crowded in the summer months, because few can resist its bewitching allure. But a visit in early to mid-June or in early October will find the place almost deserted. A place to relax and dream. This is the place that has become known as the Blue Lagoon. Perhaps lagoon is a misnomer as this is actually a stretch of water between the small island of Comino and its smaller sister island Cominotto, both of which are a few miles to the north of Malta.

Currently there are four people that live on Comino year round. Cominotto (seen in the photo above) is uninhabited. The sea bed between these two small islands is covered in a very fine, very light grey sand. This and the lack of rocks and seaweed gives the water its characteristic turquoise colour.

All photos by Darin Dykstra

Sometimes I wish I could pack up my bags and move there, year round, to enjoy the solitude of the autumn, winter and spring days, exploring this little gem of an island with no one to disturb me and spending the summer days swimming in the crystal clear waters of this sweet little bay. But some dreams will remain just that, dreams - wishful thinking to brighten up dreary days. Because, after all, I think life would become pretty boring if all our dreams came true. Don't you think?

Note on the Blue Lagoon

Tour boats to the Blue Lagoon leave Malta daily during the summer months. There are also two hotels on the island which cater for visitors who wish to spend more than one day on Comino, although these close down during the winter months. Visits to the island between mid-October and mid-May can only take place by prior agreement with a boat owner. The Blue Lagoon has a rich marine life which makes it popular with snorkelers and divers. This picturesque location has also featured in the movies Troy, Swept Away and The Count of Monte Cristo.

Images of Summer

It's that time of year again, when the sun's white hot rays beat down on this small island. The fields are parched and the land is dry. Occasionally the faintest of breezes floats in off of the becalmed sea. For those that are lucky enough not to have to work, the cool azure waters beckon.

Summer here is a lazy time, of afternoon siestas behind shuttered windows.

It is when the oleanders paint our roads with whites, baby pinks and reds.

Summer is the time for enjoying nectar-sweet fruit...



... and soul-searing sunsets of indescribable beauty.

It is when the contrast of sun-bleached rocks and deep blue sea ...

and light and shade

is at its greatest.

It is a seasons of contrasts and contradictions. It is the best of seasons. It is the worst of seasons. It is the craziest of seasons.