Malta: The Mediterranean's hidden gem

Day 146-148: Malta

Truth be told—a few months ago I would not have been able to point to Malta on a map. It was not until we met two Maltese girls while traveling in Peru back in May that the country was put on our radar. Thanks to random encounters like these while traveling, we have been able to experience a completely new land and culture that we would have otherwise missed.

I was not planning on making a video since we were only here for a few days, but on the last day we could not resist bringing the drone along to capture some of this incredible landscape. Here is a quick minute of 4k aerial footage shot over one afternoon—I hope you enjoy! (Click to watch):

Situated 50 miles off the coast of Sicily, Malta is a tiny country, comprised of three islands—Malta, Gozo, and Comino—with around just 400k total residents. It has a very rich history due to its central location in the Mediterranean, with influences from Africa, Italy, and Eastern Europe. They have their own language that is a mix of Italian and Arabic—it is quite unique and well composed.

We arrived at our hostel late at night, but not wanting to waste any time we booked a tour of Comino Island for early the next day.

We spent the day walking the rocky shores, snorkeling through sea caves in electric blue water, and jumping off the jagged cliffs.

Sorry, I could not resist…

The final stop was at the Blue Grotto, which was extremely well composed even with the crowds.

That night we met up with our Maltese friends, Yana and Nicole, whom we had originally met in Peru. They brought us to a local bar with live music, memorable food, and colorful drinks to give us a taste of Malta nightlife. Later, we stopped by a small family-run eatery for some authentic Maltese pastizzi and tea. Catching up with them was so much fun and brought back tons of memories from South America.

The following day we took a bus to Valletta, the capital city on the main island. Walking the streets of this city felt like taking a step back in time to the age of knights.

Valletta also brought to my attention what Malta does better than any other country we have been to: doors!

I am officially declaring Malta to have the best doors in the world. They are colorful, intricately detailed and no two are alike. I took more photos of doors than anything else here. Watch out for Maltese door inspiration in future homes remodels 🙂

On our third and final day, Yana picked us up and we took the ferry over to Gozo island.

We spent the day going to caves overlooking beaches, ocean salt pans, and swimming holes.

Our favorite stop was St. Peter's Pool where the famous Azure Window used to be. It was a large arch that reached out into the sea, but it had grown weak from natural erosion and fell into the sea during a storm earlier this year. There is also a natural swimming hole surrounded by caves.

And not to be missed—the still functioning set from Popeye the movie, from 1980:

We only spent a few days in Malta and feel like we barely scratched the surface of what this country can offer. From the beaches, to the food, to the people and doors, it is a country that has captured our hearts and earned a spot on our “must return for a future vacation” list.

Our journey now takes us to Greece, where we are in the middle of two weeks of island hopping, eating our faces off and trying to pet all the cats. I have been posting frequent stories on my instagram because I cannot get enough of this place. More on that soon, and I did not forget about the Italy video either! There is a month of footage to sort through so I am chipping away at it, slowly but surely. I think this will be a special one 🙂

Hope you are enjoying these last days of summer,