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.





Planting Trees

That's a me - pretty chuffed with myself - what's not to be happy about ... life is good!

The other day my parents joined me for an activity organised by the Sports and Social Committee of the office.  The event was to consist of a Tree Planting Activity at Foresta 2000 in Mellieha.  I had known for a while about the event but I couldn’t commit my participation because dad was still recovering all too slowly from his heart surgery and complications to his lungs that followed.  A few days before the activity I asked him if he was upto spending some time outdoors and he said he was game.  He had only been discharged from hospital a week after receiving treatment due to the lung flooding issue that had crept up on him.

A short history on Natura 2000: the Ridge which is being forested in the past years was extensively used and altered by activities with detriment of the natural environment and the aesthetic qualities it once held.  The project run by a not for profit organisation in conjunction with a government entity with  funds from the European Union aims to tract Mediterranean woodland in order to encourage biodiversity and to update access to the site which can be enjoyed by the general public.  The area is around 300,000 square meters and the project was initiated in May 2002.

The caretaker who is a volunteer from Din L-Art Helwa the mentioned NGO explained that trees are planted yearly and on occasion have to be replanted, since incidents took place in the past where persons struck down and destroyed hundreds if not thousands of trees – (stupid people with simple minds who think they can get what they want by destroying nature that belongs to the nation).  Regretfully not all perpetrators where caught but some were and they even got convicted resulting in them paying a small fine for the crimes committed.  Too small a fine if you ask me!!!

Saturday is usually a strictly go diving day for me but I do take pride in doing something for others and why not learn some gardening experience while I'm at it.

On the day the weather wasn’t very nice, it was a windy day with dark rain clouds looming overhead but luckily the location chosen by the caretaker of the forestation project was somewhat sheltered and rain never happened.  the three of us got into my car and made our way to Mellieha bay where we met the caretaker whom we were already acquainted with since he had guided a similar event organised by the office a few months back.  However this time we where there not just to walk and learn but also to give up our time and help the gentleman plant some threes – 40 baby trees where ready in their pots waiting for the eager volunteers to home them in their new home for their rest of their tree lives.

Dad recalled that he had done a similar activity while he was still attending Primary School at another location known as Mizieb ... who know how big dad’s tree grew for the last 55 years !!!

With spade in hand some of us worked on the holes that the volunteer had prepared for us, while others teamed up to set the plant and cover the hole.

Mum, the Volunteer & Dad 

I found this time to be a bonding experience with both my parents, notwithstanding that I was in the company of my colleagues and their families, dad and I had our close and intimate moments which I will treasure.  We often do outdoorsie stuff especially in Wardija but since the first surgery and the complications thereon this was the first time my dad was feeling like his old self at last.

Mum

Note: These photos where taken by a colleague and friend Ian Sammut Dacoutros 

Visiting Gozo and giving thanks to the Madonna at Ta' Pinu

View of Comino from the Ferry

This morning was up early, by 0630 I was having breakfast and getting ready since the night before I had made plans to take both my parents to Malta's sister island Gozo.  We would be taking the 0815 ferry and would arrive in Gozo in 25 minutes.  Everything went as planned and at 0815 the ferry was starting its journey across wonderfully calm waters.  The vessel's Pilot was Albert a good friend of mine and also a Scuba Diver.   I would have asked him to allow my parents to visit the bridge but my father would have had difficulty climbing the three flights of stairs all the way up, instead we sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful views of Comino and the approaching island of Gozo.  Berthed just  outside Mgarr harbour was the Club Med 2 a beautiful sailing cruise ship with its tender boat taking passengers to shore.

In no time I was driving out of the ferry and as planned headed to the other end of the Island as we were on a mission, well two actually; the first and most important was to visit the Shrine of the Madonna of Ta Pinu and the second was to do some shopping since the two main shopping Malls in Victoria are also open on Sunday.

The Shrine of the Madonna Ta' Pinu

Eight weeks ago, my father underwent a double bypass operation, he is 68 years and suffers from diabetes, a condition which can pose further complications to an already delicate and major operation as Coronary Artery Bypass.  Everything went well during the surgery and although rehab was and still is very hard for my father since he is still suffering some breathing problems accompanied by constant pain to the chest area, the surgeon is confident that he will recover fully in the coming months.  During my father's ordeal my mother wouldn't stop praying and one evening while we both sat quietly near dad in the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, she asked me to make it a point to take her and dad to visit the Shrine of Ta' Pinu in Gozo. She wanted to thank the Madonna for keeping her hand on the surgical team during the operation and helping dad recover. 

The Main Alter and Painting
of the Madonna

The Shrine of the Madonna has a lot of miracles attributed to the Grace of the Madonna dating back to 1883, when a lady called Karmni Grima who was walking close to Church heard a voice asking her to recite three prayers of Hail Mary.


That's what we where up to this morning ... arriving at the Church we realised mass was being said and the church was packed with devotees, we sat for some moments and then made our way to the back of the church where the painting of the Madonna is. We said our prayers of thanks and lit the little lights that replace candles in most churches as a way of thanks.
On our way out of the inner chapel we stopped to exam all the tokens and pledges left by the faithful who had asked the Madonna to grant them a grace while other's where simply notes of thanks.  Remembrances by faithful from all over Gozo, Malta and countries as far as Australia.

One of the Corridors leading to the Alter where
remembrances are left.

More Remembrances

It was past 1030 and time for brunch ... we were close to Dwejra and that's where we went, we drove all the way down to the Inland Sea for cappuccinos and ham and cheese toasted sandwiches .... simple food served in an ideal setting overlooking the Inland Sea - today the sea is flat calm and crystal clear .... For a short moment I wish I had my diving kit with me, this is one of my favourite dive sites, but today is family day and both mum and dad deserve my full attention.  We enjoy the beautiful and unique view while chatting with Jacob a very good friend and owner of the rib, he frequently ferries me and my dive buddies to dive sites outside the cave of the inland sea.

The Cave entrance/exit of the Inland Sea, with Jacob's orange rib to the right

After that it was time to go to Victoria and browse the shops, actually two small shopping malls, both have excellent brands of clothing, shoes and accessories as well as house hold items ... i had my mental note with what i needed to get; a water jug, a can opener, some rubber seals for my preserve bottles and a pair of casual shoes .... got my trendy can opener from The Kitchen Store and my shoes from Bata the rest from a supermarket, except for the seals, instead I got a couple of complete bottles.  The seals I need are hard to come across.


Having done a spot of shopping and with lunch time fast approaching we decided to head back home, so that my father would be back in time to watch the Formula One race which was airing at 1400.  He is an avid fan Formula One and Moto GP races ... he can sit in front of the telly for hours every weekend never missing a trial period or race ... he also went to watch some events live a few years ago and I'm sure given the opportunity he would do it again.