When the pumpkins didn't come out to play

A few weeks ago (this post got stuck in drafts) I called mum and she let me know that dad had expressed the wish to visit The Annual Pumpkin event held in the small village of Manikata ... The event was planned for Sunday and on the Saturday previous we had a freak storm with rain and wind ... However the weather cleared up and the forecast was looking very good.

Come Sunday the sun was shining nice and bright ... So I drove to mum's to pick her, dad and little Honey ... Our recently adopted dog.  5 minutes later we were driving up the hills to Manikata ... It's a very small village so when I didn't see any cars and no traffic on the one road in the village ... Well I thought to myself ... Where's the fair ??? The sun is shining, there are no clouds in sight and my tummy is rumbling for pumpkin ....

The car park was packed ... But there are no pumpkins, no stalls, no kids running around  ... Mass is being celebrated at the nearby church so we're guessing everyone is in church and last night's freak storm scared the pumpkins away ...

Mum being mum had Plan B ... Defrosted rabbit waiting to be cooked ... I on the other hand had Plan C ... Drive around the sea side and stop for a leisurely lunch ...

Plan C

We decided to take the road leading from Manikata to Anchor Bay and the tourist attraction Popeye Village it's beautiful vibrant colours and flat calm sea ... It was picturesque ... Regretfully I didn't take any photos I was too busy absorbing the scene and teasing Honey.

The Chapel at the edge of the Cliff

The Madonna dedicated to
l-Ahrax tal-Mellieha

Onto to the next site seeing location, we drove by Mellieha Bay and into Ahrax tal-Mellieha a rocky cliff site famous with campers, ramblers and unfortunately hunters and bird trappers ... Dad told me he didn't recall ever going to the edge ... So I drove all the way through to the end of the road and as it happens the end of the Island from that point.  We visited the small chapel dedicated to the Madonna it only has two benches inside, it's more of a shrine than an actual chapel ... A lot of photos and mementos petitioning the Madonna for intervention and miracles.

The Alter protected by Gates



Beyond the Blue Gate

 

Breath-taking drop and beautiful blue Mediterranean Sea

The view from the edge of deep blue sea only brings to mind one thing ... Diving ... And possibility of undiscovered shipwrecks that might be out there ... Far off into the Mediterranean.

After a short walk we got back into the car and drove the way we came taking the first side road into Little Armier ... Populated by boat houses used by summer holiday makers in the summer months ... Now abandoned to the elements ... As we started to feel peckish we looked for a nice place to get some good food ... And since Honey was with us we had to check restaurant policies before picking out a place ...

First place accepted dogs and we sat at the water's edge and asked for the menu, we were told that unfortunate they had a problem and couldn't serve food.  Second place had a big sign that stated "no dogs".  Third time lucky ... Finally no signs and a full menu ... Yeah !

We settled at a table under an umbrella, Honey sat on one of the chairs on her beach towel and drinks order was placed ... Ah Shandy ... Nothing beats a cold Shandy on a warm sunny day.

Dad decided on getting pork chops while mum and I had scampi ... I took a trip down memory lane when I used to dine out with my parents and always had scampi for dinner.

Cornetti, followed by a walk by the sea side ... With Honey exploring the shore line and dad getting some sea air while sitting on a rubble wall.  Once we got back to the car I decided to drive a little further to Cirkewwa and check the dive site ... Just for fun ... Turns out mum had no clue that that's where I did most of my diving ... So she enjoyed the short visit ... While I chatted to some of the ATLAM Club members who had just finished a photography competition.

On the way back all went quiet ... Good food, sea air, and a tad of exercising tired everyone up ...

An impromptu day out turned out into a lovely few hours with my loving parents and a little black dog that's become a part of our family.