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Since we got home from Malta, we have had a few days at home and then off to Yorkshire for a short trip. While we were at home, Racheal enjoyed meeting up with one of her friends from Rangers. Summer was caring for Racheal that afternoon and it was lovely to see the three of them spending time together. They went out for a walk in the rain to a café, spent some time at home showing off the scrapbooks that they’ve been working on and had fun making music together. Auntie Ann was able to join us for a few days in Yorkshire staying at Beamsley Hospital. It’s an interesting, circular building, with rooms leading off a small central chapel. Once home to 12 needy ladies and a house mother, it is now a comfortable self catering holiday home managed by the Landmark Trust. The interior doors were narrow, so we transferred Racheal from her Treki to her smaller Convaid Cruiser for indoors. This is something we do in lots of places as the Treki is often too wide for older doorways, and to keep floors clean if we’ve been out in the mud, sand or wet. For our first day of sightseeing, we went for a short walk at Brimham Rocks followed by lunch and a much longer walk at Fountains Abbey and Studley Royal Water Gardens. On the second day we visited York. It was lovely to meet up with Rose, Ann’s niece, and see some of her favourite haunts. Particularly the chocolate shot shop! We had been fortunate with the weather so far, but our third day was wet. We visited Skipton in the morning which was nearby and in the afternoon Summer made her debut as Racheal’s hairdresser while I took Nutmeg for a muddy walk. The next day we made our way back to Norfolk via Chesterfield to visit the head office of Home Care Direct, the care agency which employs Summer and Racheal‘s other carers. It was great to meet some of the staff who we have previously only spoken to on the telephone. They had created a sensory room in a small downstairs office for Racheal to enjoy and even bought us gifts. And now we’re back at home again, unpacking from our Yorkshire trip and packing for our next big adventure, four weeks in Spain and Portugal.

And finally, the last Malta blog! Kurt, our friendly wheelchair accessible taxi driver, picked us up from our little house to take us to the airport. We had been up at 6am, having done most of the packing the night before. Kurt was due at 8am, but there was a slight miscommunication so he was about 10 minutes late. It didn’t matter as the airport wasn’t far. We could have travelled by bus, but I thought it would be busy at that time and we had all our luggage too. So, with the door locked and the key returned to the key-safe we had to say goodbye and head back home, just for a few days. The assistance at the airport was good, and our flight back to Norwich passed without incident. The assistance staff, when we landed, took a while to sort themselves out, and it was clear they didn’t really know what they were doing. We had to instruct them on the position of the aisle chair and how to lift Racheal with her Pro-move sling. It turned out they were both new, and their supervisor had stayed on the tarmac, which seemed unfair on them and on Racheal. Eventually we got her safely into her wheelchair and through arrivals. It’s always nice to fly to our local airport so it’s not far to go when we get back. A few smiles to finish with.

Malta carnivals are out of this world, and particularly in Valletta. Lasting for 5 days, incredible floats and people in costumes parade through the streets night and day. Sometimes there are marching bands, more often blaring, tinny music and the carnival song repeats over and over from speakers down the main thoroughfare. There are dancing competitions in St George’s square and float judging too. The first evening, the vehicle floats couldn’t be used because of strong winds, but I think we got a better view of the costumes when everyone was walking. Subsequent days and nights the floats were out in force. Sometimes we couldn’t get near because of the crowds, but we found a quiet corner where there were fewer people and we got a good view of them negotiating a corner. Floats are divided into different categories based on size and the number of moving parts. Most are enormous and require a team of ‘spotters’ to help the driver guide them round the narrow streets and tight corners of the city. Those not taking part still dress up in costumes or masks. Racheal and Summer joined in. We had managed to get tickets for the grand finale in St George’s Square, but sadly the last night was completely cancelled due to high winds. We were all disappointed, and Racheal let us know that even an evening walk was not going to make up for missing the show!

One of the things Racheal really enjoyed in Valletta was going out in the evenings. Walks, meals out and visits to bars with patio heaters! Other places we visited during the day included the secret garden at St Catherine’s monastery. Once an orphanage run by nuns; the nuns still live in the upper floors of the building surrounding the courtyard garden and a turtle lives in the fountain! There were six long steps to get in and some of the paths were too narrow for Racheal’s chair, but she enjoyed what she could get to and the rooms around the courtyard were interesting. The Grand Palace certainly lived up to its name. A huge armoury, ornate ceilings and plush state rooms all accessible by lifts. Another place to visit was St John’s pro-cathedral. It is an Anglican Church given a slightly elevated status as the parish is part of the diocese of Gibraltar, which is a bit far to go to the cathedral! We were impressed with the outdoor lift to get in. A few more photos of Valletta by day. We really enjoyed exploring the city, and having a house in such a convenient location was great, though it was noisy until very late at night which wasn’t so pleasant.

We spent a couple more days exploring outside Valletta, by bus. Due to the carnival, the bus terminal had been moved a little further from the city which was a bit more difficult, especially in the pouring rain. During this time we discovered the smaller bus providing a half hourly service around the centre, with a stop at the end of our road, was also wheelchair accessible. With the crowds attending the carnival celebrations, this was particularly useful. Off we went to Rabat to look for the catacombs, which were advertised as partially accessible. This was one of the very wet days, so the first thing to do on arriving in the town was to find somewhere accessible and dry to feed Racheal and get ourselves something to eat. All the cafés we looked at had steps, so we ended up in a museum foyer sheltering from the rain. Summer gave Racheal her lunch while I went out to scout the area and find a café we could get into. Once we had all had lunch, we walked up the hill to St Paul’s catacombs, one of the largest in Malta. Unfortunately, despite being advertised as partially accessible, this only applied to the visitor centre so Summer and I took it in turns to spend time there with Racheal and to go underground to see the burial chambers. The following day, we were back on a bus this time to Mosta to see the famous dome. Again, only Summer and I could access the viewing area at the base of the dome, but Racheal could access the rest of the church which we explored thoroughly. During World War II, while 200 people were praying in the church, a bomb was dropped on it. It penetrated the dome and damaged a painting as it fell, but it did not explode. Everyone was able to leave the building safely and the bomb was defused without further incident. It is displayed as a reminder of the miraculous saving of 200 lives that day. Outside the church, quite by accident, we discovered the entrance to an air raid shelter which was open to the public. Summer and I took it turns to go down and look at the tunnel network which had been a safe haven when Malta was bombed extensively in World War II. Next stop was a café with a good size disabled toilet where we could attend to Rachel‘s care needs before having a coffee. Then a slow, crowded bus ride back to Valletta again.

The day came for us to leave Gozo. After a lovely week, we packed our belongings managing to reduce our luggage by putting the small suitcase inside a larger one. This made it much easier as we didn’t have the luxury of a taxi this time. Our Airbnb host had kindly said we could check out as late as we liked. This was particularly helpful as it was raining. Just after 11am we locked up our luxurious apartment and set off for the bus stop. Fortunately, the bus came quickly and was almost empty. A second bus driver was riding on the bus and helped with the ramp and our luggage. With Racheal’s wheelchair safely strapped down, we settled in to enjoy the 30 minute journey to Mgarr harbour. There was nearly an hour until the next fast ferry to Valletta. Time for a picnic lunch in the large glass-fronted waiting area, with a view of the boats and the church perched high on the cliff. Gozo fast ferry is a passenger carrying catamaran which takes just 45 minutes to make the journey past Comino and along Malta’s north coast to Valletta. The ramp to board the ferry was quite steep and had a dip just after a right angle turn which made it quite difficult to manoeuvre. Summer was managing ok, but a well meaning crew member decided to help, breaking one of the wheel guards on Racheal’s wheelchair in the process. It’s relatively easy to repair, but for now we will have to make do. We were first on the ferry and had the whole front section to ourselves. All the other passengers were directed to the stern section. Perhaps a catamaran can move through the water quicker with the weight at the back. Poor Racheal was directly under the air conditioning unit so she was a bit chilly. The windows were splashed with rain and spray, but we still had a good view as we rounded Valletta and moored in the harbour. The walk from the harbour to our accommodation was not the easiest. 12 minutes according to Google Maps, though we knew it would take longer than that when we were both carrying backpacks front and rear, pushing Racheal’s wheelchair and with two large suitcases to negotiate through the streets. Valletta is built on a steep sided promontory; a characteristic which made the walled city easy to defend from enemies and potential visitors in wheelchairs! Fortunately, modern day visitors have the benefit of the Barrakka Lift to take them from the harbour to the city above, although the slopes within the city walls still take some determination to conquer going up, and nerves of steel to descend. After what felt like a long time, but was probably about 15 minutes, we found a cafe to stop at for a drink and pass the half hour until we could check in. By now we were only five, downhill, minutes from the property and a treat felt in order. It was quite a relief to arrive at 145 St Dominic St. The tiny, traditional house which would serve as our base for the next ten nights of our Malta trip. The entrance has a split door, one half of which obviously doesn’t get used very often and was a struggle to open to get Racheal’s wheelchair in, but with a bit of jiggling the lock we succeeded. Downstairs there is a single room with a basic kitchen, table and chairs and a single sofa bed where Racheal sleeps. Stairs lead straight into a bedroom, with two single beds, off which is a small shower room on one side and a small double bedroom on the other. Most of the walls are bare stone and the windows are covered by wooden shutters. Very different to our previous abode.

On Malta, nowhere is very far away though the suburbs around Valletta stretch for miles and the amount of traffic makes bus journeys slow. That doesn’t matter to us as the bus ride is part of the fun and we don’t need to be anywhere at a particular time. The walk to the bus station, from our Valletta house, is 10-15 minutes and mostly uphill. Summer valiantly tackles pushing Racheal up the first section, which is very steep, each morning and then takes off at speed on the less steep slopes with me trying hard to keep up! On the first day of Valletta carnival we headed out of the packed city to the artisan craft village at Ta Qali for a bit of retail therapy. The craftspeople make use of buildings on an old wartime airfield to make and sell their wares. We spent a pleasant few hours exploring the ceramics, glass and jewellery shops and watching the artists creating in their workshops. While we were there, we popped in to the small café for a post-picnic cuppa and cake, and to escape one of the frequent showers. As we were munching our way through Maltese apple pie, a familiar voice said ‘hello’. I looked up and there stood a colleague from over 13 years ago, in Malta for a short break! Becky was an occupational therapist in the office next door when I was a children’s community nurse. It certainly is a small world, and it was fun to catch up with her for a few minutes. The following day, we thought we would just walk down the hill to the passenger ferry to Sliema, hop on a boat and explore the promenade there. It looked straight forward enough and only a short distance. However, distances may be short in Malta, but walking routes are often complicated by obstacles such as steps, barriers, narrow passages or pavements, steep hills and even vertical cliffs. On this occasion a lift that should have taken us directly to the ferry from the park above was out of order. We followed what seemed like an obvious alternative down the steep road only to find an uneven, narrow passageway at the bottom, leading to steps. A lady kindly informed us we needed to retrace our steps halfway up the hill, cross the road and go through a tunnel down to the ferry quay. By this time our short walk had taken nearly an hour to cover quarter of a mile! The boat journey was a pleasant excuse to sit down for a few minutes. The promenade in Sliema was a welcome change from the Valletta hills, providing a wide, flat area to walk. One of the frequent benches provided a good picnic spot and we even found a ramped walkway right down to the sea where we could explore some rock pools. After an essential ice cream stop, we decided to take the slow bus back to Valletta so that we could walk downhill from the bus station instead of uphill from the ferry!

On Thursday, we spent a day visiting some of the sights in Valletta. Our first stop was St John’s Catholic Cathedral in the centre of the city. A ramp took us to the top of the steps, and to the front of the queue. Having had our bags and Racheal’s wheelchair searched, we were admitted to the ornate, gold covered interior and join the line of people slowly making their way around the various smaller chapels surrounding the nave. It was interesting to watch a lady restoring one of the large paintings too. As we were in Valletta, we returned to the house for lunch before heading out again. This time we set off down the hill towards the end of the peninsula. As it had started to rain we decided to visit The Malta Experience, a 45 minute documentary on the history of the country. Summer and I listened to the commentary through headphones, but the film also had sound effects which Racheal could hear. Afterwards, we joined a short guided tour of La Sacra Infermeria built in 1574. It was the hospital of the Order of the Knights of St John where the knights cared for the sick, but only male patients. (Female patients were cared for on their own homes by nuns, or at the convent if they were in need of constant nursing.) In the hospital, which could accommodate up to 900 patients, were two wards, one for the rich and one for the poor. The first having single beds with a toilet to each bed, the latter having large beds with four or five to a bed, but still a toilet for each bed. The vaulted wards held over a hundred patients and each patient had a number painted on the wall. Windows along one side looked out onto a garden growing aromatic plants grown both for their medicinal properties and to hide the smell of the latrines. Our guide, Anna, was very knowledgeable and obviously enjoyed sharing her love of this fascinating building with anyone who had an interest. When we left, the sun had come out again and we were able to enjoy a cafe stop outside overlooking the Grand Harbour. But the fine weather was short lived and our walk back was punctuated with sharp showers and the need to shelter in doorways to avoid the hail.

Our first two days on the island of Malta involved bus journeys from Valletta to explore towns a little way off. The bus station in Valletta is very well organised, and with the added assistance of the public transport app on my phone, it’s very easy to get around. We had already mastered the use of the app on Gozo. Bus drivers have, mostly, been helpful with stopping in suitable places for us to board the bus, getting the ramp out and often insisting we get on the bus first and have Racheal’s wheelchair strapped in position before other passengers board. The buses on Malta are much busier, but by planning our routes carefully we can often get on a bus at the beginning of its journey which helps. Our first trip was to the walled city of Mdina, similar to the citadella in Victoria on Gozo, but a much gentler climb from neighbouring Rabat to a bridge into the city. It is a maze of narrow streets, apparently none longer than the distance a knight could shoot an arrow from his bow. This makes it difficult to find a sunny spot for a picnic because, apart from the square in front of the cathedral, there are few places to sit or that the sun can penetrate. We did find a place on the wide steps up to the city wall, from where you can see for miles. Once a thriving capital city for Malta, it now only has 85 inhabitants though the number of residents is far outnumbered by the number of tourists. The next day we were back on a bus, this time to Marsaxlokk, a fishing town on the east coast of the island. For the first part of the ride, we were accompanied by a canary in its cage! Traditional Maltese fishing boats are colourful and have the Eyes of Osiris painted high on the bow. Mythology says these will protect the fishermen from the perils of the sea. When we arrived the sun was shining and we found a pleasant spot on the sea wall to eat our picnic, the suddenly the heavens opened and we were diving for cover under a wooden shelter. Just as quickly the sun returned and we were able to enjoy a walk along the quay to admire the boats and the beautiful colour of the sea.

The title of this blog was going to be ‘Relaxing and Revelling’, but unfortunately the carnival in Victoria was cancelled due to the rain! Having spent a pleasant few hours enjoying the sun on the beach at Ramla Bay on Friday, and the morning on our balcony on Saturday, we set off to Victoria after lunch to enjoy the delights of a Gozo carnival. Soon after we arrived the rain started and, although we didn’t know at that point that the carnival procession had been cancelled, we decided it wouldn’t be much fun standing out in the pouring rain to watch it. So we posted our plastic bottles into the recycling (gobbling) machine at the supermarket, had a cafe stop, and then returned to our apartment in Xaghra. We had planned to have an evening meal in Victoria, but instead we walked to the village square, still in the rain, and enjoyed a meal in a tiny restaurant called Rubble Bar. On Sunday we set off to spend the day in the nearby village of Xewkija. We missed the bus by a few minutes and, according to my phone, it was a 25 minute walk meaning we would get there before the next bus arrived. However, the track it sent us along petered out and we had to retrace our steps back to the road. Gozo is by no means flat for all it is only a small island, and the sun was out again, so it was hard work for Summer who was pushing Racheal’s wheelchair. The walk eventually brought us into the village square over an hour after we had set off! After a coffee and our picnic we went to look at the church and were delighted to discover that not only did it have wheelchair access, but there was a lift up to the ‘panorama’, the church roof at the base of the dome. The sign on the door of the lift in the square, providing access to underground public toilets, amused us! We opted to take the bus back to Xaghra, which meant a bus to Victoria, a sneaky ice cream and a last look at the Citadella, and another bus ‘home’ to pack for the second half of our Malta trip.

Once we had settled into our Gozatian abode, we spent the next three days exploring the island. Victoria is the biggest town on Gozo and only a 15 minute bus ride away. From the bus station we walked up the main street to the citadel, the historic fortified town, perched high on a hill overlooking the modern town. A short, but very steep, road rose from the street to the visitor centre. A kind priest insisted on pushing Racheal up to the entrance, and from the visitor centre a lift took us the rest of the way up to the old town. Within the walls were tiny streets, more steep hills, a cathedral, shops, cafes and steps up to the top of the walls where you could see for miles. After exploring the old town, we found a cafe for refreshment before looking round the centre of Victoria. Here we went to the town museum and basilica, and enjoyed exploring the narrow streets. The bus ride back to our apartment took us via Marsalforn, a busy seaside village. The following day we used a ‘hop-on-hop-off’ bus to tour the whole island. It was a chilly, grey day with occasional showers, so spending most of the day on a bus seemed the best thing to do. The route took us through a number of smaller villages and out to the coast where we could see the inland sea. (More of that later.) The first place we chose to get off the bus was Ta Pinu, the national shrine. It’s actually more like a cathedral in the countryside. Outside are four curved walls decorated with mosaics of Christ’s life on one side and images of Malta on the other. While we were looking at these, it started to rain, so we made for the long ramp at the side of the building which provided wheelchair access. We had 45 minutes, or so we thought, between buses, so plenty of time to explore the inside. After waiting at the bus stop for 10minutes, I looked at the timetable only to discover that the next bus didn’t come to our stop. As it was starting to rain again, we went back inside and found a service was taking place. We sat quietly at the side listening to mass being sung. Racheal loved it, smiling all the way through and stretching in the way she does when she’s enjoying something. When the next bus came, we continued our journey. Our next stop was Xlendi, a small village around a tiny bay. The wind had picked up so we were glad to find a covered area, overlooking the bay, to eat lunch purchased from a small food stall. The village square was more sheltered so we enjoyed an ice cream while waiting for the next bus. We stayed on the bus until we reached the end of the route at the ferry terminal in Mgarr, enjoying the beautiful scenery and quaint villages along the way. Having missed the last bus back to Victoria, we then took a service bus to Xaghra. On Thursday, with better weather, we decided to return to the craft village and inland sea that we had seen from the tourist bus the day before. This meant catching a bus to Victoria and then another one to Il-Wilga. The craft village had a selection of shops such as a silversmith, leather worker, glass blower, ceramic painter and metal worker, amongst others. After visiting all the shops that were open, we treated ourselves to lunch in the café followed by an ice cream. Another short bus journey took us to Dwejra and the natural phenomenon of its inland sea. This small piece of water is connected to the Mediterranean by a short tunnel. It was a pleasant place to sit in the sunshine listening to the waves lapping the shore. While we were here we also visited the Marine Education Centre, a small free museum, and took a look at the coast and the village church perched on the cliff.

We set off on the last day of January to Southend Airport, driven in our car by Summer’s dad, to stay overnight in an accessible room at the Holiday Inn Express. The room had a carer’s room adjacent with connecting door, which is always convenient. It wasn’t the largest accessible room, but it did for a night. The next morning we made our way to the terminal building, finding a luggage trolley in a car park which made it much easier to manage our two large suitcases two large backpacks, small suitcase and assorted other small bags. Racheal doesn’t travel light! Southend airport was easy to navigate once we had dropped off the hold luggage, and before long we were being called to board our EasyJet flight to Malta. We were settled in our seats before the other passengers boarded with Racheal between Summer and me. The three hour flight passed without incident, except that Racheal didn’t like the ‘ding’ before each announcement, her bottom lip trembling each time it happened. Our first stay in Malta is on the island of Gozo. The hostess of the Airbnb that we had booked had kindly arranged for a wheelchair accessible taxi to pick us up from the airport. The driver had to get a special permit as taxis from Malta are not usually allowed to carry passengers on Gozo. The journey involved driving to the west coast of Malta then taking the ferry across to Gozo followed by a short drive to the village of Xaghra (pronounced Sharah). In all it took nearly 2 hours, arriving at our apartment at around 6.30pm. We needed two trips in the lift to get our luggage and Racheal up to the top floor of the four storey building, where we found a spacious flat with three bedrooms, a big open plan living area and balconies front and back with wonderful views. We had just an hour to get ourselves organised before heading out for an evening meal at a tiny restaurant in the village square, 10 minutes walk away. It was a bit of a squeeze to get in, but the meal was tasty and reasonably priced. While we were there it started to pour with rain so we lingered longer until the rain stopped and we could get back between showers. After a good night’s sleep, we spent the first day in the village. In the morning we stocked up at the tiny supermarket around the corner, then after lunch set off for a walk to get our bearings and see the local sights. The main attraction in Xaghra is the Ggantija Temples, Megolithic structures said to be the oldest surviving temples in the world. Racheal was more interested in the palm branch we found on the ground! An interesting first day.