Day 319: 29th April 2018 - Playmobil Fun Park

We negotiated with the kids that if they did a little writing about their day at Esplora then we would take them to the Playmobil Fun Park. It took a little while, but by 10:30 we were ready to go. I really wanted to mooch round a market on the way but in the end it seemed like too much effort.

After watching 2 buses go past before we even got to the bus stop, and a further 2 not stop because they were full we eventually managed to get on a bus into Valletta where we needed to get a second bus out to the Playmobil Factory. We wanted to get another prepaid bus card in Valletta as ours would soon run out of credits, however after queuing for 10 minutes at the Bus Station Kiosk I was told they had sold out and we could get one in town next to McDonalds.



Much to AJ's disgust we marched into town and found the required shop.... which was also a book shop and the kids quickly disappeared upstairs to the kids department. English books are really expensive here but nevertheless we decided to treat each kid to a book which they were delighted with. Walking back to the Bus Station we heard and then saw a Scout Band playing in the precinct and stopped for a few minutes to listen.

Back at the Bus Station it wasn't long before our second bus arrived and we were on our way again, kids now deeply engrossed in their new books. The bus went past the airport and soon after the large bunch of young African guys got off and we saw that they were headed for what looked like a migrant camp. It was pretty depressing.... what looked like stacks and stacks of shipping containers turned into accommodation with staircases up the sides. It didn't look like a very welcoming place.


Not much further and we arrived. Despite me thinking that the kids might be a bit old for  the "Fun park" they were delighted to find life size Playmobil figures at the entrance.

It was pretty cheap.... 7.20 Euros for the four of us, and the atmosphere was very much like a chilled out UK soft play area, only instead of an indoor play frame there was crazy amounts of Playmobil to play with and a Playmobil themed play area outside.

Patrick and I headed for the café whilst we let the kids run free. Despite having brought a packed lunch we were enticed by the café food which looked both good quality and reasonably priced. We quickly made a decision to save our sandwiches for tea time and have a meal out for lunch. All four of us ate our fill for under 25 Euros!

We had a relaxed afternoon, Patrick and I taking some time to discuss our plans for the rest of our 2 year adventure and check the weather (again) using the free wifi. The kids played inside, outside and took part in organised craft sessions as well as browsing the extensive Playmobil shop. The only downside was that they used to also do factory tours which would have been great from an educational point of view.

All in all it was a good day out. Now time for an early night as we hope to go see the fireworks in Grand Harbour tomorrow evening!

Day 317 & 318: 27th and 28th April 2018 - Sliema and Explora!

Friday 27th April 2018

The usual school in the morning then we decided to go for a walk (or scoot) along the waterfront into Sliema before catching the bus back. It was a good couple of km but we encouraged the kids by telling them we were going to find 2 playgrounds!

In the end it was a lovely walk, the first playground not so great but AJ found an excellent tree to climb with only a little adult assistance.

As we walked on we passed numerous stalls trying to sell us harbour tours or trips to the Blue Lagoon. Aside from the fact that we had already done both in our own boat it was a crazy sell as all boats even on moorings in the harbour were rocking and rolling something chronic. There was no way I would have liked to be out on a boat that day. Not sure if it was the poor sailing conditions or the fact that it is still technically off season here but many of the stalls were unoccupied and Esmé in particular took great delight in trying to sell us various trips from each and every one of them.

The moorings were closely packed together and Patrick commented that the Maltese didn't worry too much about looks when it came to tenders... I suppose they only need to get them a few metres so no need to splash out!

Once we found the second playground I left Patrick with my smartphone and took his brick shopping while he watched the kids. It was lovely to have an hour to myself before heading back to my lovely family to catch the bus back.

As we were waiting for the bus we looked out to sea and saw the day trip boats pitching and rocking and rolling out on the waves and were glad we were safely tucked up in Msida Marina well inside the harbour.

Saturday 28th April 2018

An early start for a Saturday as there was an engineering workshop on at the science museum, Esplora. After making a packed lunch and paying for another week at the marina we took the bus into Valletta and then changed onto the number 3 bus out to the museum. For a grand total of 36 Euros we had an amazing day.






First up was a planetarium show about the history of flight which we all thoroughly enjoyed. Then we got to spend a little while in their space exhibit which the kids loved.

There were many hands on activities and AJ particularly liked the one where you used an air blower to try to get a beach ball through some Quidditch type hoops. He did persevere and eventually get it through one of the hoops but of course I wasn't videoing that time. See here to get an idea. The kids also enjoyed experimenting to see how the amount of effort required to pull themselves up changed with the number of pulleys.

We ate our lunch in the amazing gardens after taking a look at the university student's race car and then went to watch the first of a couple of shows. This one was a theatrical dance show depicting Newton's 3 laws which was both hilarious and informative.








Next up Esmé went with Patrick to build a tower out of kebab skewers and plasticine while AJ played on tricycles with a new Maltese playmate and built a dam!

 They also worked as a team to build a model of a heart and Esmé investigated a vortex.

We then watched another science show about electricity, particularly static electricity.

AJ making a drinks can move using static electricity to repel it.

Learning about how an object becomes statically charged.

Esmé modelling how Gold conducts electricity by allowing electrons to pass through easily (see the gold hats!)

And showing how wood finds it harder to allow electrons to pass through so is an insulator (brown hats).

They also created a circuit by all linking hands to light up a bar and make a sound.

More time for exploring the exhibits and then Esmé learned about gliders and got a chance to make her own before we were all exhausted and had to battle our way home in what seemed like rush hour traffic and extremely busy buses.

It was a great day and I'm sure we'll be back as there was still much we didn't get to see.

Day 316: Thursday 26th April 2018 - The Malta Experience

We woke reasonably early and got some school and an early lunch out of the way so that we could do some exploring. We had decided to go into Valletta and at Grandad's suggestion, go to "The Malta Experience" which was a film of the History of Malta, followed by a short tour of The Old Infirmary.

We found the Bus Stop and quickly took a photo of it so I could remember where to ask for on the way back! Not sure I could pronounce it though!

On arrival in Valletta the kids were delighted to see a beautiful fountain and immediately ran towards it, demanding photos. There was also a Mickey and Minnie mouse but Patrick refused to let them go near as they were asking for payment for photos!

We enjoyed a walk through the lovely city, all the way to the end of the peninsular where we followed the walls round to the Malta Experience. The film was quite a nice history of Malta, however I had got it mixed up with the 5D Malta Film and so it wasn't quite the moving, 3D extravaganza that the kids were expecting! It was also rather expensive at 38 euros for our family of 4, however it did include a tour of The Old Infirmary built in 1574 by the Knights of St John.

The kids actually really enjoyed the tour, listening to the guide explain that only men were treated in the hospital, and that women were left to either be treated at home, or by the nuns for maternity care. Apparently 75% of ladies died in childbirth.

We went downstairs to the old poor peoples ward which is now used for entertaining large numbers of rich people! Apparently 700 were due for a Gala Dinner that evening.

The old garden has now been converted into a theatre where we saw an orchestra rehearsing for their performance in the evening.

We walked a little further along the walls and stopped for a snack at a small playground. There were some strange shacks on the rocks near the water, not sure if they were fisherman's shacks or the Maltese equivalent of Beach Huts! On the way back through town we bumped into David Mather from MdR who had come over on the ferry for a visit, and he had bumped into Sarah and Ian the previous day. Guess the Med is a small place!




We caught the bus back, stopped off a playground to give the kids a run, and headed back to the boat for dinner. I saw Sarah and Ian's boat on a nearby pontoon and went over for a chat and to deliver a bus map! They managed to get into the performance at the Infirmary for free the previous evening just by turning up on the door!

Once back on the boat I asked the kids which bits of Malta's history most interested them... Esmé was quite noncommittal but AJ was interested in the 2nd World War bit, especially the role of aeroplanes protecting convoys of ships, so over dinner I put on a documentary I had downloaded about the Merchant Navy Ship, The Ohio which we all watched.

We were all pretty tired so started our bedtime routine soon after dinner.

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!

Day 314: Tuesday 24th April 2018 Dwejra Bay, round Gozo to Salina Bay (Guest Blog By Esmé)

I made orange juice out of oranges and we put some water in it and we drank it in the cockpit with our breakfast. We had omelette! Then we started school. I did some maths and Story of the World.

We raised the anchor from sea and I shouted how deep it was and it got less deeper and less deeper. Daddy pulled it up with the handle bar which was metal but he told my old grip off my scooter to put on the end to make it comfier. We started the engine and sailed away to Salina Bay. On the way I was colouring with Mummy and AJ was reading and Dad was driving.

When we arrived at Salina Bay we had a snack to check the anchor wasn't dragging and did maths with cucumber. Then we got our swim stuff on and swam with Quackers the duck. 

I did my nails ready to go to Dizzie for drinks and The Magic School Bus. 

It was a lovely day.