The Return of Wu Wei Travel

Just go with it...

Today I am making my last visit to a prehistoric site on this trip. Probably. Possibly.

I am heading to the Hal Tarxien Temple Complex - a collection of temples built around the time, but probably slightly later, than those I have visited so far - a Johnny-come-lately 4.5 to 5 thousand years ago.

I wasn’t sure what to expect but wow, I think this might be the most impressive so far. Quite apart from the scale and complexity…

it also has some fairly impressive artwork. It is not dissimilar to some of the art at Knowth in Ireland, but seems more intricate … which is odd, given that it is older. There is also what I assume would have been a huge statue, if the top half had been present. Unless this is the full thing and the temple builders were just obsessed with nether regions..?

Regardless, I am impressed, especially as the site also wasn’t overly busy. At least once the German tour party had moved on.

Following this, I had intended to visit a place that I had just spotted on Google Maps. A sort of ghost town abandoned in the 17th century, called Hal Millieri. The Google reviews are gushing, claiming that this is the best thing in Malta, an absolutely must see! The trouble is, I can’t figure out if the reviews are ironic or not as they don’t really give much detail on what is there to see. Never mind, I shall make the attempt and find out for myself.

The buses say no.

I ask AI for details by way of incentivising myself and am told that it is only open to the public on the last Sunday of the month. This is not what Google said. Clearly one of my competing tech assistants is lying again.

Meh.

I shall give it a miss and just go for a random wander around Valetta instead. At least there are is no shortage of buses going there!

Valetta is once again very busy (I suspect that this is always the case), so I spend my time exploring side streets.

That cruise ship is huge! The thought of being stuck on that sends shivers down my spine!

One of these side streets leads me to the Fortress Builders Interpretive Centre. Now I don’t really have any desire to visit this, but the winds of chance have blown me here and I can get in with my Heritage Malta pass for nowt.

Shame on me and my cynicism, this turns out to be a fascinating history of the various stages of the fortifying of Malta to stem the endless waves of invasion.

Earliest in the history of defensive building is the bronze age settlement Borg in-Nadur which I visited a few days ago. Even better, they had a model showing what it would have looked like.

I would not have guessed that from what I saw!

Lots of interesting stuff about the Knights of St. John. They were, of course, a Hospitaller Order, both fighting and tending to the wounded since the crusades in Jerusalem.

It turns out that the Knights are still going, albeit as charitable organisations. There have apparently be numerous schisms, both between Catholic factions and a Protestant splinter group. I don’t know why it had never occurred to me but the St. John’s Ambulance Service is a modern incarnation. Quite a gear shift from crusades to owning Rhodes and then Malta, to patching up football hooligans on a Saturday afternoon. I suppose it still counts as combat healing…

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My last full day in Malta and it turns out that I may have lied about being done with prehistoric stuff. Oops.

I am heading to the Clapham Junction tracks (yes, that’s actually how they are sign-posted).

It’s a challenging journey once again, but I am now a dab hand at flexing to a Plan B if a bus fails to materialize. Unfortunately my cunning plan went awry this time, having been bowled another Googley.

This leaves me at a bus stop, god knows where, and when I check the live bus times am informed that, due to roadworks, the next bus is tomorrow.

Luckily the stop is on more than one route, so I will just roll with and wait for whatever turns up. ( I may write a short guide to Malta public transport in case it is of any use to anyone. There is a definite knack to it which I am gradually acquiring…).

Anyway, I find the tracks (and some bonus caves that I wasn’t award of into the bargain). The cart tracks are quite wide spread across Malta and Gozo. they were man-made in prehistoric times, but no one seems to know what they were for. The Clapham Junction moniker refers to the fact that many of these cross in this place.

I did see something about them all being near to quarries, which might make sense, given the Maltese penchant for temple building.

My appetite whetted (yes, it really doesn’t take much) I head to another cart tracks location. Now this is the beauty of not really planning too much, there is always the joy of discovery!

As I fight my way across the building site which (Google leads me to believe) is the way to the track location, I notice that there are a number of Punic tombs in close proximity. Malta is like that: random historical stuff everywhere that no one takes any notice of. Wander off the beaten track and there are wonders to be discovered (OK, I will admit that some grooves in the ground may be stretching the meaning of wonders)

Whilst I have my nose, metaphorically rather than physically , in the tomb I am approached by a man waving his arms and calling to me. I thought I had been busted for being on some land that I shouldn’t have been. Not so, he just wanted to tell me where the good stuff was. The Maltese are like that.

As I head of in the direction indicated, another local asks where I am going and then offers to take me there. Turns out to be a well hidden and largely ignored dolmen in a built up area. Nice.

My guide then asks if I like walking and points out that there is a beautiful, secluded walk to be had in a nearby valley and offers to take me to the path. I hadn’t intended to go hiking, but what the hell? I have a local guide! Instead of just taking me to the start of the path, he then walks with me, giving lots of local facts and history. You can’t buy this sort of stuff!

Now, some might say that following a complete stranger into a secluded valley is unwise, but sometimes you just have to trust your instinct and see where the adventure takes you.

Eventually we part ways (thanks Paul!) as he is going for a steep climb and has sensed my lack of enthusiasm, so he points me at a further short walk which will take me to a village where I can catch a bus.

These unexpected encounters have made my day. This is the sort of thing that only seems to happen when you travel solo. It tends to restore your faith in humanity when you are on the receiving end of such kindness.

Talking of which, I had a moment on the bus on the way back when a young man offered me a seat. This has never happened to me before (well, it probably wouldn’t in the UK!). It gets you thinking about how, despite how you feel yourself, others see you as old.

I get over it pretty quickly. I am definitely having that seat! A bus seat in Malta is like winning the lottery.

I will be sad to leave Malta. It is an island of wonderous sights and wonderful people. You can’t really ask for more than that.

I feel that I shall be back…