This is my picking-up-as-though-it-hasn't-been-a-month-since-my-last-post.......
I went to Malta the second week of April.
I always have a watch on or keep my phone nearby strictly for time-checking purposes. I am generally always aware of what time it is, and I have made it an unconscious habit of maintaining this just about everyday. I told myself and my travel buddies that while we were in Malta, I didn't want to know the time..at all.
I stole this brilliant, and amazingly satisfying trick from a friend of mine whose father also has an obsession with knowing the time and budgeting every minute. My friend's dad is the type that has a distinct watch tan line on his left wrist, and only when they are on family vacations, does he make it a point to remove the watch that is his unconditional companion any other time. It serves as a symbol of letting go, being in the moment, and also as a way to even out those awful tan lines.
Anyway, I wanted to treat the three days in Malta like a vacation within my study abroad "vacation". I made the decision to remove myself from the very obvious constraints that always knowing the time puts on me, and I allowed myself to really let go.
Truly, it was a very liberating few days, and annoying to the others I'm sure. Anytime someone would mention being here at this time or catching the bus at so and so time, I would "LALALA" and ignore the conversation. I made no plans, arranged nothing (which included not only my time, but my money as well...oops) and I felt great. We spent an entire day (really, I have no idea how long) on the beach, looking out into the bluest, clearest water I had ever seen up until then. I also took three naps and drank several beers to my satisfaction.The redness of the backs of my legs and my back were testament to my time spent on the beach that day and the itching and burning did not cease to remind me to slap on the SPF 50 the next day.
We took a fast boat out to another island that makes up the Malta trio and hopped into another, less stable-looking one with bright stripes painted on the sides. We toured the various caves and grottoes and drifted around the island.
Now, THAT water was the bluest and clearest I have ever seen- ever. It was as though only the most brilliant shades of blues and greens were chosen, and they transformed and melted into one another, creating a new color from every different angle. 'Incredible' doesn't even touch how beautiful it was.
Post-boat tour, we set off to hike the island, which is made up of unstable rocks that are extremely difficult to navigate up and around, especially so in flip flops and with the sun unforgivingly smacking my already burnt skin.
Randy, a fellow world traveler extraordinaire, jumped in the water to test the depth so he and I could cliff dive. Turns out he should have checked for jellyfish first, not doing so resulted in a few stings and having to be rescued by a Crocodile Dundee-looking fellow in a boat with a sputtering engine who just happened to be cruising by. He noticed our obvious struggle and inexperience with things such as jumping in water, climbing out of water, climbing out of water while being stung by swarms of jellies, and the knowledge that jellies are defensive animals who flock to signs of disorder. That information would have been helpful even before Randy got into the water, but even more so before we threw rocks and sticks in attempts to scare the jellyfish away. You live and learn, right? Anyway, selfish or not, I'm glad Randy jumped in first so I didn't have to get stung.
And by "we" trying to help Randy out of the impossible water, I mean that Tanner was trying to pull Randy up by the arm, Becky was doing the rock and stick throwing, and I was a few feet away so as to not get Tanner's camera wet. I documented the entire travesty.
We discovered the castle that was in the movie "The Count of Monte Cristo", bought vodka slushies, and waded around in the sand of private beaches before heading back to the main island and catching the sunset just in time. It wasn't as breathtaking as the night before, but I'm only biased because I have seen some pretty wicked sunsets in my time in Europe.
I don't even need to conclude that Malta provided the perfect ingredients for relaxing and satisfying three days and laugh-until-my-stomach-hurts moments. That and some of the most awesome photos that should be in galleries and sold for millions.
And I did it- I made it three full days without knowing the time. Sunsets were my only way deciphering night from day, and that was awesome.
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