I've arrived!

For all of the stress and anxiety that built up prior to my trip, the travel itself was highly uneventful – smooth sailing in fact. My friend Dave was kind enough to drop me at O’Hare, and even the traffic was a non-issue. We arrived a full half hour prior to the time I had hoped to and from the second we parted ways everything went according to plan. I boarded the plane for London without any delays and had a very enjoyable flight owing to my good Samaritan ways. A woman I was seated next to wanted to sit with her daughter. After some finagling they moved me to Economy Plus (more leg room for my lengthy 5’2” frame) and gave me a complimentary glass of wine for my troubles. Arrival in London also went swimmingly and, oddly, the 5 hour layover just flew by. (Largely owing to the book I’m reading called “In the Woods” by Tara French. Air Malta also departed on time, and we landed as scheduled in Valetta. The moment we all were waiting for – the passport inspection – went by without a hitch. The visa they gave me doesn’t even indicate a departure date so gone were my worries about getting kicked out of the country immediately on arrival.

From there, I picked up all of my luggage – all pieces arrived in safe condition which I was convinced wouldn’t happen as I’ve not lost luggage yet and statistically speaking, it’s bound to happen sooner or later. I navigated my way to the taxi stand where an eager driver took me immediately and I was reminded just how friendly the Gozitans are. I settled into the taxi for the 45 minute drive to the ferry and felt completely at ease with the familiar landscape of limestone, pleasantly surprised to see the area more green than the last time I left it, owing to the later date in the summer and some of the rains they’ve had. I made it to the ferry just as one was arriving, loaded all of my bags on board and bought my first beverage in Malta – a Cisk beer. Aaaahhh – nothing like it. It conjured up memories from last year on the baruf with my Anthro friends and it suddenly occurred to me that I was sitting in the same spot I had sat with Vicky, Marjan and Wim on our return trip from Gozo. Instead of making me sad, it filled me with a kind of confidence and warmth and I was grateful for the memory. I called Tonio, the realtor, and we made arrangements to meet in St. George’s Square. Just another quick taxi ride through Gozo to Valetta from another very nice taxi driver, and I was here at last.

I met Tonio as well as Ted, the owner of the property. Tonio is younger, probably in his mid/late twenties and Ted is probably in his late 50’s though it’s hard to tell with the way the sun damages the skin here. They were both very very welcoming and friendly and made sure I had both of their phone numbers in case I needed anything. Ted made sure to ask me several times if I liked the place, as if he was looking for my validation. He also told me that I could call him anytime day or night if I needed anything. He was kind enough to stock the fridge with some necessities – water, milk, bread, jam, fruit which was a relief as today is a local holiday and most of the shops for supplies like that are closed. We made arrangements to meet tomorrow at 11am and go over to the leasing office to go over the contract for the apartment. I unpacked, tested the apartment for wireless (nada – also, my phone does NOT get a connection afterall) and am going to shower before heading out in search of my first Pastizzi before the rest of the shops close for the night. It’s about 6pm here and it’s going to take me awhile to get into the swing of what shops are open during what times, especially since the holiday season is waning and the island will not surely cater to some of their tourist-friendly hours for long.

Oh, I almost forgot – my apartment is exactly where I thought it would be – just above Joe’s cigarette shop and this organic store that I loved the last time I was there. It’s only one flight up so not too tedious and the view is perfect, overlooking St. George’s square and the entrance to St. George’s church. It’s practically ground zero for watching funeral processions! Wahoo!