10 Handy Tips for Prospective Hikers

 I'll admit this isn't the best time to start planning hikes - summer in Malta is anything but hiker friendly. Nevertheless, it is never too early to start planning, familiarizing yourself to the world of hiking and preparing for many autumn hikes. 

Before you embark on this exciting journey of exploration, keep these simple, yet essential tips in mind:

Tip 1: Plan ahead

Sure, it’s true that you’ll have this handy guidebook and map in hand, but before you go on a walk it’s a good idea to look up the location on Google Maps to see how you can get there, and get an idea of the terrain you’ll be navigating.

Tip 2: Check the weather: 

Laugh all you like at the idea of a thunderstorm...I’m aware that it’s almost always sunny weather, but you simply never know! Checking the weather doesn’t only mean seeing if you’ll be needing an umbrella or not – a windy forecast may often result in an unpleasant experience. 

Since Malta is an island in the open Mediterranean, winds can be quite strong as there are high lands such as mountains to offer shelter. When the weather is such, find an inland walk – preferably some valley, but at high winds it’s advised to stay inside. Remember that this is the countryside you’ll be in – where particles flying around may leave you with a very irritated eye!

Tip 3: Wear good walking shoes and comfortable attire

Don’t go attempting to cross the Bingemma Gap wearing heels! Ensure that you have a good and comfortable walking shoes – hiking boots are more ideal than the ordinary tennis shoes, especially when tackling off-the path areas and coastline trails.  Another key for comfort is your choice of attire. Dress in layers – when walking, your body temperature rises, and you’ll start to feel the heat. Have a light jacket you can take off – or put on if a gust of wind decides to blow your way, but don’t go taking off a scarf or really fluffy jacket – or you’ll catch cold!

Tip 4: Stick to the main path and avoid field paths

As annoying as it might be, our countryside is not so open as it could be. If you see RTO (Reserved To Owner), Private Property or even some loose chain running from one side to the other of a path you were planning to take, give a sigh and change your routes. These paths, closed by farmers owning fields in that area, are just like the many other paths you’ll get the chance to explore. This increase in dead-ends is coming as a consequence of farmers having things stolen from their fields, and as it happens in every case, the good ones suffer with the bad one’s. 

Maybe some day these secret and linking paths will be open for exploration once more, but for now, do your best to route your walk in another way. I’m sure you wouldn’t like to be shouted at by some angry farmer who sees you, not as a hiker enjoying nature, but a trespasser and potential burglar to his precious tomatoes!

Tip 5: Stay on the alert

Malta’s amount of cars seems to be increasing drastically. In some narrow lanes, there won’t be space for both you and a car to pass by – especially not a farm truck. Keep an ear (two actually) open for any coming car – or motorcycle. The latter's barely even bother to slow down! Any decent driver will though – find an opening to your side and wait for the vehicle to pass. When your road keeps curving, never walk round a blind corner – oncoming traffic will not be expecting you. Always stay on the outer side of the curve – so that you can see what’s ahead – and so cars can see you, and when walking in double-lane roads, face the opposing traffic, so that you can see what’s coming from ahead.

Tip 6: Come prepared

If careful, the chances of needing a first aid kit are low. For short walks with paved terrain bandages and alcohol are enough, but a first aid kit is essential for long and cut-off routes - so have one handy. This should include … wraps, splits and wound coverings, medications/treatments, tools & supplies, and personal items such as sunscreen.

4 adhesive bandages, ½ roll medical tape, ½-ounce tube of antibiotic treatment, 3 small packages of pills: ibuprofen, Benadryl, and an antidiarrheal, 2-3 antiseptic wipes, 2-3 butterfly bandages, Tweezers, Safety pins, One sheet of moleskin, Water treatment tablets, Latex gloves

Other hiking essentials: water, a map, compass, torch, watch.

Tip 7: Be strategic

As well as being strategic, be realistic. Don’t go on some 10km walk when the most you’ve ever done is a jog round your village. If you’re a beginner, start with an easy route – short and sweet. It will still be equally enjoyable – and sometimes, the shortest routes are the nicest. They won’t leave you all hot and sweaty – and what’s more – they can be done in an hour or so.

Each season has it’s best times for a walk. Early morning or late evening walks are best in summer - it proves to be too hot for any afternoon activity. Walks in autumn, spring and winter are nicest in late mornings and afternoon – because remember that it gets starts getting dark early in September. While on a walk you had started in broad daylight, you may just find yourself coming back in pitch darkness.  When walking in late evening, wearing a vest bicyclists wear, is a good idea.

Tip 8:  Respect private property and mother nature

On a complete different note, fields belonging to farmers are completely, and rightly so, their own personal and private properties. We are not talking about the paths that link these fields, but the actual fields. Don’t go picking fruits from trees or taking vegetables from patently grown crops – that hard work is meant to go to the farmer’s market to be sold at its deserving price. 

Similarly, keep your litter in a bag to dispose of back home. As much as you wouldn’t like someone dumping plastic bottles and wrappers on your porch, farmer’s will be equally angry and annoyed to find pieces of litter scattered in their fields. Remember the golden rule: don’t do things that you wouldn’t want others to do to you!

Tip 9: Beware of unchained dogs

Though illegal, some farmers do like to leave their dogs free to roam about their farm and fields. The majority are friendly, but it’s always best to not take any chances. If you do happen to encounter a dog blocking your way in a lane it’s important to notice its non-verbal's. Is it seeing you as a threat to its master’s property? Is its owner nearby and ready to call it away to let you pass? Or is it just minding its own business sniffing at this bush and that? When the owner is at hand, he will most likely call the dog to his side – so your problem will be solve, but otherwise cross it at your own risk! You won’t often find loose dogs – if the dog’s attitude appears vicious and ready to attack, retreat and report the irresponsible owner. You’ll be doing all your fellow hikers a favour.

Tip 10:  Keep a good lookout for bees’ nests

This mostly counts for the summer months. Malta isn’t called ‘Melita’, which means honey, for nothing. Between May and September the air will be buzzing with the humming of the bees. Bess like to build their nests in the Maltese countryside wall –il-hitan tas-sejjieh. When walking, walk in the centre of the path and keep a distance from side walls.

HAPPY HIKING

1.     

14/03/2024 - Visit to the capital city

  It's been a while since I posted anything but all the schoolwork and then the Easter exams I've been up to my ears with studying, and outings have been few and limited. 

Thankfully I've had my last exam - Italian - on Wednesday, and what better way to mark the end of a month's work than by paying a visit to the capital city? We've got a little tradition running in this family. We never have any reason to travel to Valletta or anywhere near but we make it a point to make a yearly visit to the old town anyway. 

It gives a stately feeling, like in the 1960s when my grandmother used to have treats by being taken to Valletta to buy shoes, etc. We dress all prim and proper and I remember the last time I went in 2021 was with a blouse and cardigan like some English lady with a poppy pinned on it. It was November and I had crocheted many more of them - hoping to sell them. Spoiler alert I sold none but then again my marketing strategies had a long way to go.

Thursday happened to be a gorgeous day. My mother had planned to go early before the shops opened - but I wasn't willing to give up 3 precious hours of beauty sleep! So it was decided to leave at 11:30. In the morning of course haha. 

Poor Papa. It was not until 1p.m that we waved out goodbyes to our cat and got into the car. The weather was just right - it was sunny but also cloudy so we weren't at risk of getting sun burned or anything. I did get a nice little sun-tan though...

We drove via Birkirkara and Msida and as per usual the roads were jammed with traffic. Probably it could have been worse but we were driving at around 1-2 pm the time when many schools call it a day. Not to mention that there were road closures too! But that shouldn't come as a surprise, should it?

Anyway, upon our arrival we found a good spot for our car in the parking area 4 floors below ground level and started by exploring the Upper Barrakka Gardens. 

The three cities spread across the harbour, in a lovely panaromic view. There were even some lockets with the railing with couple's initials inscribed on them, but the trend appeared to not have caught on. 

After doing some window shopping along Merchant's street, and shortly after we headed to the piazza and of course got a little nibble from Cafe Cordina, whose inside makes you feel like you're a royal about to enjoy some afternoon tea in Buckingham Palace. Here's a photo of the decorative celling, and stately looking chandelier hanging from it. A trip to the capital city can hardly be complete without it! 

Goodbye Valletta! See in again in a year's time

Encounter with a colony of bees

            I was always a curious one - and all our walks are planned to the last degree. For me, a walk is a treat - a one time ticket to track a route, and track it right. We never roam around, we take a path which I know for certain leads to some other path that leads to yet another path which ends up at the starting point. Circular routes give me such pleasure!

            I remember this path near my grandmother's field. Down that hill is a lane to your left, and a few metres in it is a narrow country lane going uphill. It's barely even a lane where nature has been growing as much as it could. Intrigued, I immediately checked it on Google Maps upon arriving back home and discovered that it leads to San Andrea and San Anton school. Great, we would track that down next time, I informed my father.

            So we went and were doing fine when all of a sudden the sound of buzzing began to fill the air - first distantly and then growing louder. Bees! I thought, and said so. As per usual my father brushed off this alarming observation without much thought. We walked a bit more, and then...Bees! I shrieked more hysterically. We must have been threading on their territory. We pulled as much clothing over our heads as we could and hurried back. It was awful trying to rush because the terrain was all uneven rocks but after a while the buzzing sound couldn't be heard any more. Phew. 

         Now anyone would have thought that after an episode like that and given my great fear of anything that stings, we would have let that path be. But no, my stubborn mind was already looking for some loophole. I went on Google Maps and concluded that the next time, we would go from the other side. After all, those bees could have been farmed ones - the farmer just happened to let them out for some air that time. So we went.

           The path was already looking very sketchy and we were expecting to see a private sign any second but nonetheless we trudged off. We passed the school ground, passed their green-house hall and continued a few metres, then ... scampering back to our car. Our friends had come to see us off and wave us good riddance for the last time. I was still running long after my father had stopped. 

            And yes, this time I 'got' it and decided to let that path be. One path left half-way unexplored strikes me as a bit of a failure, especially since it is in my favourite area - where my grandmother's field is and we had so many happy family outings there. Yet it's better that than have to face those bees again!

P.S don't you be expecting any more photographs...as if I'm going to pause to take a selfie with some irritated bee!

Joining the Malta Geographical Society for a walk

         This time I decided to take a walk from a different perspective, so my father and I joined the Malta Geographical Society for one of their weekly walks around the island. Today’s walk was around Buskett and Had-Dingli. 

            Everyone was welcome to join and we took the opportunity to renew our membership, having already joined some of their ramblings last year. We set off in the afternoon from Buskett Winery and walked towards the cliffs. 

           The huge majority were elderly, and this sadly made me realise how much the younger generation is missing out from! Of course there were some dogs too... 

Above: The Verdala Palace in the distance. This is the President's summer residence.

               Leaders led the way and guided the walk in a nice and leisurely manner with ample time to take photographs or have a sip of water along the way – something much approved of by members, especially my father who couldn’t walk too fast due to back injuries dating from last year (a slipped disc resulting from a hike taken last year with a different rambling group who rushed too much). 

                Once at Dingli we walked alongside the cliff and it was really windy so I only to happy to walk back inland after a while and back to the cart ruts. At times we walked along country lanes or in the open land and others we had to squeeze through bushes hiding secret paths I surely never would have discovered on my own! 

                For me, it was a lovely experience. To my surprise, we were a very big number of over 70 keen and friendly hikers, which encouraged me to go out of my comfort zone and do a bit of socializing. I made friends with a very nice girl and got to widen my knowledge about the historical sites around, such as l-Ghar il-Kbir and the cart ruts at Clapham Junction (no, not the train station 😌)

Above: Filfla island seen from the cliffs near Dingli

                Not only were the leaders and the elders eager to share information, everyone was so kind and helpful! Whenever we reached a tricky part some one would always wait and offer a hand to help us down, and when we were walking through an overgrown path with branches sticking out everywhere each person would carefully hold back that branch for the person behind her and so on. It was a community of people. 

                The walk appeared smoothly planned but the leaders explained how that very week they had to unexpectedly re-route the walk as they found  a mountain of rubble in the way! The quarry nearby had placed an enormous amount of limestone where the walk had intended to go. It’s not everyday that a flat path becomes a sand dune, I’ll be bound to say! Maybe even more surprisingly, it didn’t blow all away in all that wind...  

Above: Group photo!!

Letter to the Editor 15/10/2021: Times of Malta

        Well...not really my first post, but about 2 years ago I had written a letter to the Times of Malta and just remembered about it. I won't be using my website to gloat over the charming sceneries of Malta, but also to raise some awareness about the useless, and excess construction going on. 

        Pretty as the Mediterranian sea may look from Dingli, and lovely as the hills may look from Bingemma, it's not all sunshine and laughter. From the Laferla Cross, the growing population of concrete buildings seem to be taking over the green land you had seen when you had visited some year prior.  

        Unfortunately in my country, the building industry is prioritised over nature, which as a result, isn't getting the respect and importance it deserves. 

                          ___________________________________________________

A plea to save Malta

        I am only a child and I cannot change the world by myself. I have so little power and authority but I have been told that I have a talent for writing, so I am using it for a good cause.

        I am writing about all the beautiful qualities Malta has and how we are destroying our culture for greed. We do not seem to be proud of the lovely Maltese architecture. Do you see a skyscraper instead of the stone-built towers in Tuscany, Italy? Can you imagine a five-storey building set among the picturesque cottages in the Cotswolds, England?

        We have lovely traditional houses, like, for example, our traditional farmhouse with colourful Maltese balconies, shutter windows and great doors with a unique brass knocker on each side. It seems we are not aware what a jewel of a country we have.

        Do you realise that by building plain flats or modern villas, we are just getting a reputation of a colourless and ordinary country? We are losing our unique Maltese mark. Tourists will no longer come to see our charming villages, even though we have a lovely coastline. They will probably go to the French Riviera instead.

        “Why should I fly all the way to that island to see nothing but construction? I could easily pop into the next town to see huge rectangles of building ruining the skyline.”

        On another note, it feels so proper to see a row of houses in the same style! Thought for some, it is much nicer to own a house with a completely different design than the others, I suspect that building more and more floors is plain greed.

        In most European countries, buying a home is not as expensive as it is in Malta. While I am well aware that in big cities, such as London, an apartment would cost quite a lot, I know that, out in the country, one can find cottages for sale from £70,000. That’s much cheaper when compared to Malta. I would really like the prices to go down.

        The greedy people among us will eventually realise that a nice view of birds singing, animals in their happy habitat, lovely sea views and a walk in the non-destroyed fields are much more rewarding that stacks of money.

        Money is not all, especially if all we can see is a wall outside of our windows. You can only earn true happiness by appreciating life and living it as Jesus would like us to.

A small introduction

             First of all, a big welcome to all! For those wondering, I am a Maltese girl who is very, very fond of the countryside. The name 'An Island of Adventure' was inspired by Enid Blyton's very first famous five book - which she named 'The Island of Adventure'. The story is about some children who go exploring a little island off the coast and end up finding gold. Indeed, quite an adventure!

Above: Dingli cliffs on a very windy day!

                         ________________________________________________ 

            At the risk of going out of point, I feel that Malta herself is a little 'island of adventure'. There are so many secret paths that people don't know about. Some are rather far-off and at first glance one wouldn't even think they could lead to anywhere. But they obviously do!

Above: On one of the many walks around Ghajn Tuffieha - Lippija tower area with my father.

            I have started many blogs and websites using Wix, Webador and Weebly (coincidence they all start with a 'w', no?) but never managed to make it a regular habit of posting, so I hope to change that with this one...

            The aim of this one is more for a personal experience. I'm going to do my best to collect and share interesting information about the history, geography and culture of Malta, but ultimately my main aim is to share with you the secret paths of Malta, as Alfred Wainwright did with the Fells of the Lake District in the North of England.

Below: Alfred Wainwright in the Lake District. Photo from 'Visit Lake District' website.

            Anyway, that's all for now. Here's to 2024 - wishing everyone a happy New Year!

P.S Some of the entries might be back-dated. Previously I journaled with pen and paper.