Day 315: Wednesday 25th April 2018 Salina Bay to Valletta

We woke up in Salina Bay to see our buddy boat, Dizzie, gone on her way to Syracuse. We have made the decision to go to Valletta despite the fact that we may get stuck there for a couple of weeks due to incoming stormy weather. It will be expensive but we didn't want to leave Malta just yet... we still have lots to explore. We also felt that there would be more to do here for a couple of weeks storm bound than in Syracuse.

So, we did a little boat school, deflated the dinghy and said goodbye to Salina Bay without ever having gone ashore. From what Justin said it is a very British touristy holiday town, not really our kind of place, and the ship wrecked on the beach doesn't quite do it for us as, however we are still looking forward to shipwreck bay in the Ionian!


 We enjoyed a leisurely sail to Msida Marina, Valletta. Contemplating if we had to contact Valletta Port control to enter and deciding that this was probably only for entering Grand Harbour. The entrance into Valletta was amazing. There is always something special about taking your own boat into a capital city!

We radioed Msida and they allocated us a berth, saying that they hoped to find somebody to give us a hand in. As we motored in we saw a guy indicating where our berth is. It was exactly the worst kind of berth for us, all the way down a narrow aisle, in a position where our port prop kick would be most unhelpful. However as there was virtually no wind I decided to try reversing down the whole aisle and into the berth. Took a couple of goes to get the final turn into the berth right but all in all I was quite pleased with my efforts!

We booked in, found our bearings and then I headed off to Lidl with Esmé as we were in desperate need of supplies. It was about a mile away but further with the numerous wrong turns we took, and I was grateful that the very steep hill was on the way there rather than the way back. We also stopped at a playground en route.  Shopping always take 50% longer and costs 20% more with Esmé in town but her company is welcome on the walk each way.






We finally got back to the boat, unpacked the groceries and ate! It was pleasant sitting in the cockpit and anticipating a stay in a busy city!