by Krista | Jun 14, 2012 | Compatriot Wednesday
Serendipity – a happy accident, a pleasant surprise
Today at Across the Cafe Table at the Travel Belles we’re discussing serendipity.
The islands of Malta and Gozo were places of non-stop serendipity for me. My trip to Malta was last minute, a case of get the cheapest ticket going somewhere and go! I did no research, no planning, and had absolutely no idea what to expect.
I was wonderfully, beautifully surprised. (Click here for stories on the Inland Sea, the Azure Window, the cliffs of Sannat, and the exquisite flowers of Gozo.)
On my second day in Gozo I was about to board a boat to go visit Malta’s Blue Grotto, when suddenly in the jostle and lurching of boarding, my camera was dropped and disappeared beneath the crashing waves.
I was gutted. My camera may be tiny and cheap, but it is a treasure to me, my way to capture the beauty around me and record memories for future remembrance.
For a moment we were all stunned and then one of the Gozitan boys dove overboard and somehow found it on the bottom of the ocean. I knew the salt water was its death knell, but I hoped beyond hope that the pictures could be saved. A lovely elderly British couple we had visited with earlier saw the debacle and instructed me to hand over my camera into their keeping so they could attempt to salvage something while I went to the Blue Grotto.
Trying not to let the loss ruin my trip, I handed it over, thanked them profusely then took a few steadying breaths and boarded with my friend Barbara.
I’m so glad I went instead of moping over the loss of my camera. The speed of the boat, the wind in our faces, the sun on bare shoulders – oh, it was glorious! Barbara felt so bad about the incident she insisted that I use her camera to record our little adventure. It meant so much to me.
I had no idea there was a Blue Grotto in Malta, but there is, just across the bay from Wied iż-Żurrieq on the tiny island of Filfa. Our boatman took us in and out of all sorts of caves, including the Blue Grotto, and we watched divers plunge into the crystal clear water.
Filfa is uninhabited save for a unique species of lizard, and it is wild and weathered, buffeted by winds and waves into a place of rugged beauty. When Malta was a British colony, the British Armed Forces used the island for target practice! Thankfully it is now protected under Maltese law.
When our boat tour was done, we bid farewell to the rugged cliffs of Filfa and motored back to Gozo.
As we clambered up the stone steps, we were greeted by the British couple who had not only kept my camera for me, but rinsed it thoroughly with fresh water and hung it to dry in the piping hot Maltese sun. The camera was beyond repair, but thanks to their kindness the memory card was saved, along with the hundreds of pictures I’d taken on our trip.
Losing my camera was not the highlight of my day, but meeting that lovely couple who ended up saving all my pictures was indeed serendipitous. A most happy accident.
For more tales of serendipity, head over to the Travel Belles: Across the Cafe Table.
For information on boat tours to the Blue Grotto in Malta, click here.
What is the last “happy accident” you experienced?
by Krista | Jun 12, 2012 | Bits 'n' Bobs
Sword-fighting, ambushes, tents collapsing – life was anything but dull this weekend when I attended History Alive at Fort Lytton, Queensland.
Last year I joined a medieval enactment group – Black Wolf – and this weekend was our first medieval event of the season. We worked our tails off sewing, cooking, building, and creating, and finally everything was packed and ready to go.
We arrived Friday afternoon and peered disapprovingly at gray, cloudy skies, hoping the rain would hold off. Apart from a few spits here and there, it did, and soon the sun was out and we were barefoot in the lush, green grass trying in vain to believe that THIS was the dead of winter.
We slept like the dead in our unbelievably cozy and warm Bedouin tent that my friends made by hand. Looking at it I wondered how a tent with no closed seams and walls that flapped in the wind could possibly be warm, but it was. So warm, in fact, that I was happy when gusting breezes wafted through now and then.
Saturday dawned sunny and warm and we spent happy hours cooking over the campfire, frying up bacon and eggs for breakfast and homemade sausages with fried rice for lunch.
My friend Ann and I mixed up the sausage meat before we left, a tasty blend of beef and pork, and her hubby Neil put them into casings. Boy howdy, were they ever good! No additives or preservatives, no bread crumbs and who-knows-what filling them up, just good, lean meat flavored with garlic, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and simple spices like paprika, cayenne, black pepper, and sea salt.
Lizzie braved smoke in the eyes and singed fingers to make homemade cottage cheese. She stirred, heated, strained, drained, and molded until it was perfectly creamy and delicious.
We sipped piping hot chai tea made from scratch in a tiny iron pot, and nibbled on nuts, grapes, apples and figs stored in handmade pottery and wooden bowls.
It was a wonderful weekend of good talks, hearty laughs, and delicious food with dear friends. I can’t wait for our next adventure at the Abbey Medieval Festival. 🙂
What is the best festival you’ve ever been to?
by Krista | Jun 7, 2012 | Plucky Thursday
After exploring the beautiful Azure Window and Dwejra Bay on the island of Gozo (click here to see pictures), my friends and I were dying of thirst and ready for a shady rest.
Janet led us to the picturesque Inland Sea, an idyllic spot of craggy cliffs, pretty little boats, and clear water just a short walk from Dwejra Bay.
We found water-side seats under spreading umbrellas and sat back with icy drinks to rest, visit and soak in the view.
We watched boats emerge from a tunnel through the rocks, and wondered where on earth the tiny green door in the cliff led to.
I am particularly fond of brightly colored doors, and these boat sheds delighted me. Wouldn’t it be fun to have your very own tidy little fishing boat painted in turquoise, orange and purple hidden away in a shed with a bright blue door?
The pale stone buildings of Gozo can be blinding under the harsh glare of the sun, and the vivid hues of paint they use bring much-needed relief to the eyes and cheer to the heart.
We visited contentedly and sipped our drinks as we watched boaters and divers arrive, hoping fervently the shorts perched precariously on this boatman’s bottom would stay where they belonged. To our collective relief, they did. 😉
All too soon our drinks were drained and it was time to leave this idyll and head into town for a bit of shopping at a Gozitan craft village.
What is your favorite body of water to rest by?
by Krista | Jun 5, 2012 | Gulliver Tuesday
It was a blindingly sunny morning when I joined my dear friends, Janet and Barbara, for a jaunt to see the Azure Window on the tiny island of Gozo in Malta.
We piled into Janet’s open-topped jeep and roared off down bumpy roads, luxuriating in the cool breezes whipping our hair and fanning our faces. After a bit we jounced off the mottled side roads and onto smooth asphalt, curving our way over craggy hills and down to Dwejra Bay.
Dwejra Bay is a beautiful spot, and the Azure Window its crowning glory. A natural rock formation, the Azure Window is a favorite spot of photographers, rock-scramblers and scuba divers.
I was happy to stand on the rocky shoreline and gaze at it, easily imagining pirate ships lurking along the base of the cliffs.
The rough shoreline fascinates me. At first glance you think the pock-marked with amoeba shaped holes are encrusted with ice or filled with snow. But upon inspection you discover they are thickly frosted with salt that crunches underfoot.
Since we arrived early there was hardly anyone about, so we happily posed in the sunshine for squinty-eyed pictures before clambering over the barren rocks while the wind tore at our hair and sent our skirts whipping wildly.
We gazed in awe at towering cliffs plunging down to the sea, and peered into tide pools for glimpses of tiny creatures.
Soon the blistering Maltese heat was upon us, and we were ready for a cool drink and some shade, so we took one last look at the beautiful Azure Window and headed back.
We ambled past a pretty little church perched on a hill, and headed down to the Inland Sea in search of a cuppa. I’ll take you there another day. 🙂
What is the prettiest natural formation you’ve ever seen?
