By 0830, we were approaching Valletta. We had been told Valletta is spectacular looking, and it really is. It is a giant fortress, and much like Rhodes, as you enter into the old city, you feel like you are stepping back into time. Except that in Rhodes, you had to actually walk through the walls to get the strong sense of history. Here in Valletta, it was apparent from the water.

Malta’s main town of Valletta is located on a peninsula between two harbors. There is a marina in each harbor. We picked the marina in the eastern harbor, called Grand Harbor. The marina is located in one of the three fingers on the east side of the bay, in a part of town called Vittoriosa, which was originally built by the Normans and is one of the oldest cities still standing today.

We pulled into our slip at 0930. There was someone there to help us tie up. We backed in and tied up the back of the boat to the floating dock, and were given two slime lines to secure the front of the boat to moorings. The marina is top notch. The offices are limestone with amazing high ceilings and arched doorways and support pillars. It has the best bathroom facilities of any marina we have been to (except One 15 in Singapore. One 15’s facilities specifically for the yachties are only OK, but yachties are allowed to use the club’s main bathrooms, which are amazing. We are still ranking Grand Harbor as the best bathrooms of any marina because these bathrooms are specifically for the yachties). We mentioned that in Siracusa we were kind of awed at being parked in front of such a historic section of town. We have an even stronger sense of awe here, where the buildings are probably older and kept up better. We are parked directly in front of the Maritime Museum.

As we were pulling in, we noticed that there was incessant ringing of church bells and intermittent sounds of either fireworks or rapid gunfire. The noises seemed to be coming from all directions and reverberating in the bay. Eric got Kosmos all situated, then checked in with the marina, and then gave Kosmos a quick rinse off. By the time he was done, it was lunch time and all the noise had stopped. We picked a Chinese food restaurant along the boardwalk. Chinese was a welcome change of pace.

It was hot outside and we were tired, so we took a nap after lunch. Christi woke to the sound of music, possibly a marching band. The music dominated over the harbor for at least an hour. Then it went back to the incessant bells and intermittent fireworks. The smell of fireworks permeated the air. She saw that there were lots of people walking around the marina, and none seemed phased or bothered by the noise. Christi went outside and asked what was going on and found out it is a religious holiday. From what she could gather, it looked like there were 3, maybe 4, different celebrations going on simultaneously in different parts of the city, hence the overwhelming sound of non-stop bells and frequent fireworks. The fireworks woke Eric, and we went to explore.

Like Siracusa, Vittoriosa city is on a hill above the waterfront. We started climbing the hill into the city, following our ears to what sounded like the closest set of bells and explosions. The others are definitely much farther away. Of course, the local fireworks stopped almost as soon as we started walking, but the bells continued. After just a few blocks, we found the celebration. The street was lined with strands of Christmas lights, colorful statues of saints, and medieval style banners. It is evident that Malta’s sense of identity really lies in the medieval period of the Knights.

In front of the big church there was tons of confetti on the ground. Lots of people were walking in and out of the church, and we went in, too. It is vibrantly decorated in bright red and gold, which contrasts beautifully with the white limestone building. The bells stopped ringing and almost immediately a marching band began playing and walking down the street. We started exploring the other streets and found a second marching band. On another street there was a parade of men wearing white robes and carrying religious accoutrements crosses, incense burners, banners with religious symbols, etc. The last group in the procession was a dozen men carrying a statue. It looked really heavy and the men seemed to be struggling under the weight. On another street there was a grand stand with a stationary band playing. Here and there were a few vendors selling food from carts. The whole scene was festive and fun. Everyone was dressed up, and there was a decent size crowd, but not a ton of people.

We were just getting ready to head back down to the water when another round of fireworks started. We were coincidentally standing right in front of the building whose roof they were being shot off of and we had a spectacular view. Eric kept saying that he couldn’t believe that they let the spectators get so close to the launching area. Just as he was making yet another comment, a shell hit Christi in the shoulder. It left a big welt. It’s the price you have to pay for a front row seat, we suppose.

We headed back down to the waterfront for dinner. There were as many people on the waterfront as spectators at the celebration on the hill above. We went back to Kosmos, where we watched the sporadic fireworks shows from the pilot house. We are guessing that the shell launching area is a small space and that someone is up there reloading shells between each round, hence the intermittent displays. The music switched from the marching band sound to a more concert-like sound. The fireworks, bells and music went until 1130 and then all stopped. Malta wins as the most exciting welcome we’ve ever received in a port!