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The seaplane arrival dock at W Maldives
Have you ever dreamed of hopping on a seaplane and escaping to your own little sandy spot of paradise in the middle of a vast blue sea? If so, you were probably dreaming of the Maldives. And if your version of paradise (like mine) included luxurious overwater bungalows, gourmet dining and a chic yet decidedly casual vibe, you were most definitely dreaming of the W Maldives Retreat and Spa. I was fortunate enough to spend two nights at this magnificent property while in the Maldives this week and though the full post from my visit is coming soon…I just had to take a minute to gush about my all-too-brief stay at the W. Until this week, my experience with W Hotels was limited to their big city properties, mostly in the U.S. Though I’ve always liked their über-cool and refined atmosphere, I wondered how that would translate at a resort property.
The deck of an Ocean Oasis Retreat
Effortlessly, it turns out. From the moment I spotted the W’s signature design from the seaplane, I knew this place would be special. W’s motto is Whatever, Whenever and that mantra is contagious. There are no rooms, only retreats, and in no time you succumb to the remoteness of the location and begin to revel in the luxury of your surroundings. Within an hour, you know the island well enough that it begins to feel like home, your retreat its own private oasis. No matter how many retreats are occupied, the island maintains a constant air of tranquility and at times you truly believe you have it all to yourself. Island time quickly takes hold and before long you’ve forgotten when you last saw your shoes…but never where you left your mojito.
So what did I think of my stay at the W Maldives? In a word – WONDERFUL.
Posted 3 days, 14 hours ago. Add a comment
The beaches of Corniche with the Abu Dhabi skyline beyond
After a 12-hour flight from Réunion, I landed in Paris and hopped on the train to meet up with my friend Susan at the Westin Paris. Susan flew in earlier that afternoon and will be joining me for the next 2 weeks of RTW #7! No one has ever joined me for this long on one of my RTW trips and I am super excited that Susan is coming along.
After meeting up at the hotel, we headed out for a spectacular dinner at my favorite little restaurant on Ile St. Louis before calling it a night (since we both had spent most of the night before on a plane). The next morning we caught the train back to the airport and headed to Abu Dhabi.
Situated in the southeast of the Arabian peninsula, the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) is a federation of 7 emirates (similar to principalities) and the capital city is Abu Dhabi. I’d visited one other emirate before – Dubai – on RTW #1 and it was quite an amazing experience. The UAE is known for oil, opulence and over the top architecture and I wondered if Abu Dhabi would measure up to Dubai.
My entire reason for going to Abu Dhabi was to get to my next destination, the Maldives. It was one of the few cities in the world with reasonably-priced and well-timed flights to the islands. Plus, since I’d never been there and I loved Dubai, I thought it would make a nice stopover.
Turns out, Abu Dhabi is home to more than 200 islands, a great expanse of Arabian desert, some of the world’s most luxurious hotels, one of the world’s largest mosques and a vast array of gleaming skyscrapers. There was far more to do than our 24 hours would allow so we narrowed our day down to the top sights.
The Emirates Palace Hotel
After arriving late the night before, we slept in a bit before beginning our exploration on Sunday. From our hotel in the center of town, we headed toward the ocean to the beach-lined area of Corniche. Mile after mile of powder-soft white sand beaches line this stretch of sunshine-splashed real estate. The clear blue waters of the Arabian Gulf make these some of the best beaches in the Emirates.
We walked for a few miles out to the island of Kasser al Amouage where the city’s largest mall – Marina Mall – is located. After lunch at the mall, we next headed to Abu Dhabi’s iconic luxury hotel, the Emirates Palace. The distinctively massive Emirates Palace is the hotel alluded to in the movie “Sex & the City 2” even though the movie was actually filmed in Morocco (U.A.E. officials refused to allow filming to take place within the Emirates).
Though the hotel doesn’t allow anyone but guests or those with restaurant reservations to enter, we managed to talk our way in and spent some time walking around the lobby and shops before heading back to our hotel. Our plan for the afternoon was to visit the enormous Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.
Inside the ornate Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
One of the largest and most beautiful mosques in the world, the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is the only one in Abu Dhabi open to non-Muslims. As long as you visit outside of the daily prayer times, you are free to explore this exquisitely appointed mosque. Large enough to accommodate 40,000 worshippers, Abu Dhabi’s Grand Mosque was said to “unite the world” with its design and construction using artisans and materials from all over the world. More than 3,000 workers and 38 different construction firms were involved in the creation of the Moorish and Mughal-inspired design. Natural materials like marble, gold, semi-precious stones and crystals feature prominently in the design.
The courtyard of the mosque is stunning enough in itself but we were completely mesmerized by the beauty of the interior. Gold, gemstones and mosaic tiles blend with brilliantly-colored giant chandeliers and the combined effect is simply overwhelming. I’ve visited a number of mosques in my travels and I think this might have been the most beautiful from a décor perspective. The interior surpassed even the decadent Emirates Palace that we’d visited earlier in the day.
It was a full day of exploration in Abu Dhabi and we discovered a really delightful city with much to see and do. Late that evening, we headed back to Abu Dhabi airport to catch our flight to Malé. Next stop…the long-awaited Maldives!
Posted 4 days, 11 hours ago. Add a comment
Reunion National Park
Sandwiched between Madagascar and Mauritius…and hundreds of miles from anywhere else, the lush island of Réunion is a French outpost with a decidedly spicy Creole flavor. Though it’s not known for pristine beaches and flashy resorts, like neighboring Mauritius, the island does have a few picturesque sandy shores framed with sparkling blue sea and more than one nightlife-centered resort town. But the real draw of Réunion is its stunningly unique natural setting featuring soaring peaks and one of the world’s most accessible active volcanoes.
My visit to the island of Réunion was split into two parts. Since Air France flies to both Mauritius and Réunion I didn’t really have a preference of which to see first – which was good because the only frequent flier availability was in and out of Réunion (and I was extremely lucky to get that!). I decided to just fly myself between the two via convenient and reasonably-priced forty minute flights on Air Mauritius. After all, I could hardly come all the way to this part of the world and not see them both.
The way the flights worked out, I ended up with a 6 hour layover on Réunion before my connecting flight to Mauritius where I’d be spending the first two nights. Never one to wait out a layover when there’s something more productive to do with my time, I decided to put those precious hours to good use and headed to the rental car counter. In about 30 minutes I had a set of car keys in one hand, an island map in the other and a general plan taking shape.
One of Reunion's best stretches of sand - St. Gilles les Bain
Most visitors come to Réunion for two things: the sunshine-splashed coastline of the west (sometimes called the “Réunion Riviera”) and the dramatic volcanic cliffs of Piton de la Fournaise. Since there was no way to predict how long the slow, winding drive up to the volcano and back would take, I played it safe and decided to drive the west coast and explore the island’s resort towns. I also had an ulterior motive; I hadn’t yet booked a place to stay for my return to Réunion in a few days and figured this was as good a time as any to check out some hotel options.
As I would soon learn, driving in both Réunion and Mauritius involves navigation by directional signs more so than road maps and – more importantly – a demonstrable mastery of the “roundabout.” And just to keep things interesting, these two neighboring islands drive on the opposite side of the road. In Réunion, that meant driving on the left again, as I had recently re-acquainted myself with in Malta.
Ever-fearless of vehicular challenges, I confidently made my way west through the capital of St. Denis and then south stopping first at a spot that came highly recommended by the helpful guy at the car rental counter – the beach resort of Boucan-Canot. After walking the sandy shore end to end and dipping my toes in the Indian Ocean, I continued down the coast to St-Gilles-les-Bain, the largest and most cosmopolitan resort area, where I stopped for lunch, became attached and started hotel hunting. With no trouble at all, I found a lovely little hotel near the beach for just 78 euro and made a reservation for Friday night.
After venturing further south to the beaches of l’Hermitage-les-Bains and la Saline-les-Bains, I headed back north to the airport feeling like I’d gotten a great head start on my visit to Réunion.
Réunion – Part 2
After two marvelous nights on Mauritius, I took the quick flight back to Réunion Friday morning. I reconnected with the friendly car rental agent from a few days before and in no time I was back out on the road and headed for higher ground. My plan was to spend the entire day driving through the heart of Reunion’s National Park and a recent addition to UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
The National Park covers 40% of the island’s surface area and includes the volcanic summits of Piton des Neiges and Piton de la Fournaise as well as the three natural amphitheaters of Cilaos, Mafate and Salazie carved into the land. Formed by millions of years of rainfall and erosion after the collapse of the walls of a prehistoric dome volcano that once encompassed the whole island, they were given the name ‘Les Cirques” because of their circular shape. The Cirques are a natural wonderland with mineral springs, towering waterfalls and endless hiking trails. You could spend days on the island just hiking the Cirques but since my time was sparse, I limited my focus to the National Park’s top attraction.
Inside the crater of Piton de la Fournaise
Réunion’s volcano, Piton de la Fournaise, is one of the worlds’ most active and erupts with great regularity. The last major eruption was in 2007 when fiery lava spewed down the eastern and southern shores for days expanding the island’s land mass. Since 1998, Fournaise has rumbled with malevolence at least every two years making me realize, after a quick calculation, that it was probably due for an encore any time. Luckily, local scientists carefully monitor all activity around the crater and volcanoes in general are notoriously bad at surprise parties.
After successful navigation of a series of roundabouts (which I have completely mastered this week), I easily made my way to the island’s interior road leading up into the sky. The landscape began to change almost immediately from sunny beach resort to lush tropical vegetation dampened by rolling mist. It was as if I’d traveled to another island entirely. The temperature dropped rapidly as I neared the summit and I was surprised to see a bit of traffic up ahead. I’d hardly seen another car on the whole drive so this didn’t make sense until I rounded the corner and was astonished by the landslide of red clay burying the oncoming lane and most of mine in rocks and mud. It had obviously just happened because the police and emergency crews were just arriving at the scene and routing traffic around it. Luckily, it didn’t appear there were any cars on the road when the earth gave way. Frightening, nonetheless.
The dramatic landscape created by the volcanic activity of Fournaise seems almost schizophrenic with lush green rolling hills around one corner and barren scorched earth around the next. But nothing really prepares you for the summit and the moment when you stand on the tiny wooden platform perched on the precipice of the cone and stare miles down into – literally – the core of the earth. I’ve never seen anything like it. I mean, sure, I’ve seen volcanoes – heck I saw three last week on Easter Island alone. But they were all long extinct, their once-powerful craters replaced by placid lakes.
It was a stunning and humbling spectacle of the power of nature. I can’t imagine what it must be like to live on an island in the middle of a vast ocean with this beacon of lava-spewing unpredictability in your back yard. Talk about living on the edge.
Appropriately-awed, I slowly began the twisting descent down the opposite side of the volcano and toward my hotel on the west coast, stopping at every lookout point along the way to capture the beauty of the panorama through my camera lens.
Because much of the south and east of the island are in the lava-flow zone, there isn’t as much to see there. So after a full tour of the western side of the island and an entire day spent in high-altitude volcano admiration, I felt like I had seen as much of the island as one can see in just two days. I was again fortunate to benefit from nearly perfect weather both days. Since I’ve already visited the Seychelles Islands on Round the World #4, my visit to the Maldives later this week will make my Indian Ocean grand slam complete!
Posted 6 days, 15 hours ago. Add a comment
Up close and personal with the lions of Casela Park
I arrived on the island of Mauritius fairly exhausted after a 36-hour travel day involving 4 flights from Malta and a 6-hour layover (turned tourist outing) on neighboring Reunion – more on that in the next post. After realizing a few days earlier that my hotel in Mauritius, Le Meridien Ile Maurice, was a staggering 40+ miles from the airport on the opposite end of the island, I figured I’d better go ahead and reserve a car for my two day stay. I was thinking of getting one for the next day anyway so I could get out and explore the island but the looming $100 cab fare from the airport made that decision a no-brainer. It turned out to be the right decision because Mauritius is a large island that is much more easily discovered with your own wheels.
Mauritius has an interesting history. Unlike many small islands ravaged by colonization, Mauritius had no existing native population when the first Dutch colonizers arrived in 1598. The first colony never really flourished and in 1710 the Dutch set sail for greener pastures permanently leaving their mark by causing the extinction of the island’s native dodo birds.
Shortly thereafter, the French moved in as they often did in those days; followed by the British who took over in 1810. During the years of British rule, the African slaves brought to the island by the original Dutch settlers to work the sugar cane fields were finally freed. They were quickly replaced by as many as 500,000 Indian workers shipped in with broken promises of a better life.
Sheer weight of numbers gradually allowed the Indian majority to improve their conditions and ultimately gain independence from British rule in 1968. Since then, the relatively young nation is still finding its way economically with a diverse population that includes five ethnic groups. The lack of a native island population able to claim superiority is a large part of the reason Mauritius is often cited as an example of multi-ethnic success. The island’s next-largest ethnic group is the Creoles, direct descendents from the African slaves brought to the island. Though English is the official language of Mauritius, Creole is the first language of 70-80% of the population and is still spoken widely. As a result of the economic boom largely fueled by tourism, living standards in Mauritius have improved steadily in recent years. Despite these gains, Mauritius remains the most densely populated country in Africa.
As I worked my way across the island toward my hotel, I realized my initial perception of Mauritius had been way off base. I hadn’t done my homework and had assumed that, like neighboring Réunion, Mauritius was more culturally aligned with France. Now, driving through the small towns and villages I was constantly reminded of India – and not necessarily in a good way.
Home, sweet, Starwood home!
When I arrived after nightfall at the oasis that is Le Meridien Ile Maurice, I was greatly relieved to finally be off a plane, out of a car and quickly escorted to a beautiful suite, complete with chilled bottle of champagne, overflowing fruit basket and personalized welcome letter. Home, sweet, Starwood home. And people wonder why I love my Starwood hotels…days like this are why. The obsession continues unabated.
It was too late to do anything but pop the cork on the champagne, peel an orange and start my work day online as business hours neared back in the U.S. So I caught up on emails for a few hours before collapsing into bed excited to see the view outside my balcony at sunrise.
The sunrise did not disappoint as I got my first glimpse of the Indian Ocean’s emerald waters just steps away. I grabbed my camera and embarked on a self-guided tour of the hotel property. From the dock that extends from the beach, I realized that the water in Mauritius is unlike anything I’ve seen before. It’s an impossibly clear marriage of emerald and turquoise that seems more fitting of the crown jewels than a body of water. I couldn’t stop looking at it and, more importantly, I couldn’t wait to get in it.
Thanks to having my own wheels, I had a loose plan of total island domination for my one full day on Mauritius. Looking at the map and grasping the size of the island after my drive from the airport the night before, I accepted the fact that I would have to stick to a few keys areas if I wanted to make it back to the resort by sunset (which I did).
The beautiful waters of Mauritius
Mauritius is world-famous for its beaches so that was tops on my list. I asked the concierge for recommendations for some of the island’s best beaches and, of course, they were scattered across the map. I picked the ones that combined the most glowing reviews with the most realistic drive times and headed out.
My first stop was the northern tip of the island and an endless stretch of white sand called Trou aux Biches (translated as Does’ Watering Hole). This fast-developing tourist destination is lined end-to-end with beachfront apartments, villas and bungalows instead of the ubiquitous mega resorts and had a very relaxed, homey vibe. Your own personal slice of beachfront nirvana available for weekly or monthly rental.
Next, I made the long (and often confusing) drive south to the southwestern coast to a town called Flic en Flac. Many of the island’s 5-star mega resorts are located here and it’s easy to see why. Unlike some of the questionable towns I’d noticed fronting some of the resort areas, Flic en Flac was a pleasant little town blessed with perhaps the most stunning stretch of beachfront real estate on the island.
The drive down had taken more than an hour so I decided this was as good a place as any to stop for lunch and soak up the view. Plus, I figured a good meal would help keep my strength up for the next stop I’d planned for my island tour.
A few days before my arrival, one of my ever-alert Twitter followers mentioned that if I was going to Mauritius, the Walk with Lions at Casela Nature & Leisure Park was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I was terrified yet intrigued when I saw his lion-petting picture (that’s right, petting a lion) during his visit. Ever a sucker for a great photo-op, I simply had to check this out.
A little online research revealed that Casela was one of only three places in the entire world where you can interact one-on-one with lions, tigers and cheetahs (the other two, in case you’re in the market for such things, are Lion Encounter programs in Livingstone, Zambia and at Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe. Casela offers both hour-long walks with the animals and their trained guides – which are extremely popular and were booked up completely when I inquired – and a lion/tiger/cheetah interaction. I decided that the interaction experience was probably more one-on-one lion time than I needed anyway so after lunch I headed just down the road to the park.
As you enter the front gate at Casela, it’s time to make your first decision: lion, tiger or cheetah. They are all the same interaction price but since they are located in slightly different areas, you have to decide up front. Now, I would have preferred to suss out their attitudes first or perhaps see who looked the most sleepy but a sight-unseen decision had to be made. I weighed my options and went with my gut: lion. My thought process…the tiger thing didn’t work out so well for Siegfried and Roy…and I knew there was no way I could outrun a cheetah…maybe I’d have a shot against a sleepy lion. Lion, it is!
The park cashier relieved me of about $40 US and I was briefly consoled by the fact that at these prices they were surely raking in enough dough for adequate safety procedures. He handed me my ticket and directed me through the beautifully-landscaped reserve grounds to where a safari vehicle would pick me up for the drive through the gates to the animal enclosures. So far, so good.
I cannot believe I am doing this!
There were five more people waiting for the safari vehicle and I was happy to see them. We all climbed aboard the Jeep and before I knew it we were pulling up to three vast, wildlife enclosures. Each one containing – you guessed it – lions, tigers and bears, oh my! cheetahs. Our small group was then divided up by animal choice and I was alarmed to realize I was flying solo with the lion. Did they know something I didn’t? I mean the white tigers and the spotted cheetahs were cute and everything but obviously the lion is the king of the jungle, why no other takers? Had they heard my lion had a bad attitude? Hadn’t been fed yet? Heroin addiction? What??
I briefly considered switching to the tigers so I’d at least have other victims guests in there with me, especially since I had sized them all up on the Jeep ride over and was convinced I could outrun every last one. But I ultimately decided to defer to my first instinct and stick with operation lion. Plus, everyone else was going along with this like it was a perfectly reasonable thing to do so I thought it was entirely possible I was just being overly-dramatic.
Next, we were introduced to our individual trainers (I was pleased to see none were missing any limbs), given release forms to sign (shocker!) and escorted to our selected enclosure for what I could only assume would be a lengthy and detailed safety presentation perhaps involving self-defense techniques in case of emergency and, almost certainly, the distribution of weapons.
Instead, my guide looked me straight in the eyes, rattled off two safety rules that would have fit easily on the back of my tiny entrance ticket and handed me a walking stick.
The entire 30 second “presentation” – I swear to God – went something like this:
Lion Guide: (stern look) “When we go in there, just remember two things – 1) stay right behind me and 2) never, ever run.”
Me: (gulp) “Got it.”
Right. Comprende kemosabe. What does he think I’m going to do? For God’s sake it’s a lion enclosure. I obviously will follow his instructions to the letter.
So, now the moment has come and it’s time to go in. As we approach the gate (the two of us and a park photographer in tow), I have a moment of panic when I do a quick head count and realize that the one lion I was expecting was actually more like 8 to 10 lions (I lost count while trying to regain my composure but I swear to God it was like Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom in there).
My mind (and heart) races. Who’s going to keep an eye on all these lions? I certainly can’t, suddenly my very grasp on consciousness seems precarious. Lion counting? No way. My guide is just one person and, like me, he’s also armed with only a stick. The photographer is useless, he doesn’t even have a stick. Is anyone in this death-trap shooting with anything more practical than a Nikon?? Dart guns? Something? There should be snipers. Where are the snipers? I scan the trees. Nothing.
As all of these thoughts are racing through my head I suddenly realize that I’m still standing paralyzed just inside the gate while my guide and the photographer have marched directly across the field toward the first group of lions. Fantastic. In less than 10 seconds, I have completely abandoned 50% of my already meager safety instructions. I’m going to be on Dateline.
My guide soon realizes I’ve gone rogue (though the amount of lag time involved was less than ideal) and quickly walks back to retrieve me with a disapproving look on his face. By this time I’d somehow regained control of my legs and I met him half way. I cannot even attempt to explain what it feels like to be standing next to a lion.
I have somewhat regained my composure and am moving where the guide tells me but only out of sheer self-preservation. The primal instinct to get the hell of out there is overwhelming. I realize that my guide and this photographer know these lions and work with them every day which explains their blasé comfort level but this is a first for me and I need a minute. I mean, if not talking to strangers is always good safety advice surely not talking to strange lions ranks right up there, too.
We approach the first lion who my guide has determined is ready for his close-up and he takes my walking stick, steps behind the lounging lion’s back and places the end of it gently but firmly between his front leg and torso. This is apparently some sort of coded message to the lion that I’m not lunch. The guide indicates that I should crouch down behind the lion and pet it as the photographer lines up the shot. I pray that the lion has properly de-coded the message and crouch as instructed but am not sold on petting. He brusquely pats the lion to show me that it’s OK and I follow suit (though with less vigor). I realize the photographer has started shooting so I make a concentrated effort to smile and try to enjoy this…no one wants to buy photographs of themselves looking terrified.
After taking a number of photos from different angles, I’m actually starting to relax because I figure we’re just about done here. I even begin to enjoy what an incredible experience this is, momentarily forgetting that in order to get these shots I had to turn my back on four other lions currently eyeing me with interest. But no, as soon as we finish with lion #1, we move right over to lions # 2, 3, 4 and so on repeating the process until my guide is convinced I’ve gotten my money’s worth or I have a complete panic attack – whichever comes first.
After each lion group, I thank him profusely and indicate that I’m completely satisfied but he encourages me to continue on and meet the other lions. I can’t help but feel I’m pushing my luck and ultimately, we conclude our lion business and exit the enclosure. Once safely outside the gate I exhale for the first time in about 20 minutes.
Now that I’m no longer potential lion food, I walk back to the enclosure gate to watch the lions interact and for the first time can truly appreciate their beauty (instead of just their teeth) while the photographer is preparing my photos. I honestly can’t believe I have just done this.
It was a once-in-a-lifetime thrill and yet terrifying at the same time. An incredible animal experience that may have even surpassed my reigning favorite animal encounter – swimming with the jellyfish in Palau. I’m so glad I did it and I’ll cherish those pictures but in all honesty, if I’d realized how many lions there would be I surely would have chickened out. After all, it only takes one bad apple. Just ask Siegfried & Roy.
I left Casela still riding the adrenalin high of my death-defying lion encounter and decided I had time for just one more sight before heading back across the island to the hotel. So, I drove down to the Le Morne Peninsula famed for its iconic craggy peak visible from much of the island. The peninsula has some of the island’s best beaches and a few new hotels but it’s significance is directly tied to a local legend associated with the cliffs. The story goes that a group of escaped slaves fled to the peninsula hiding out atop the mountain to remain free. Unaware that slavery had been abolished after their escape, and believing they would be re-captured when they saw an approaching troop of soldiers, they flung themselves off the peaks in large numbers giving it the name Le Morne – meaning the Mournful One.
After a completely exhilarating day on this beautiful island, the sun was beginning to set and I took it as a sign that it was time head back to the hotel. It was a brief but amazing stay here in Mauritius. Tomorrow I fly back to Reunion to continue my appreciation of that island’s unique beauty before flying on to Paris to meet up with my friend Susan who will be travelling with me for the next two weeks.
But there’s one thing I know for sure…I’ll never forget my visit to Mauritius.
Posing with a rare white lion in Casela
It’s not every day you get to pet a lion. But that’s exactly what I did here on Mauritius today! The island is home to the Casela Nature & Leisure Park, one of only three places in the entire world where you can interact one on one with lions, tigers and cheetahs. The Park also offers hour-long walks with the animals which are extremely popular and were booked up completely today. I settled for the interactive experience and was not disappointed. It was just me, my guide, a photographer and more lions than I could comfortably keep track of, alone in the enclosure. Thrilling and yet somewhat terrifying at the same time. It was a once-in-a-lifetime animal experience that may have even surpassed my reigning favorite animal encounter - swimming with the jellyfish in Palau.
Posted 1 week, 4 days ago. Add a comment
The "Azure Window" on the Maltese island of Gozo
It’s inevitable that in the course of my annual January round-the-world trips, I will sometimes be visiting a destination in its off-season. Over the years I’ve discovered it’s not always detrimental to my enjoyment of the country; in fact in many cases I prefer it to a high season visit. That may well have been the case with the island nation of Malta.
With over 7,000 years of history, the culturally-rich Maltese Islands are literally saturated with attractions and places of interest. Made up of three main islands – Malta, Gozo and Comino – the islands lay virtually in the center of the Mediterranean, about 60 miles south of Sicily and 140 miles north of Africa. Despite their close proximity to Sicily, Malta is no mere Italian outpost. In fact Northern African and Arabic influences are much more prominent than Italian. This is true in the architecture and in the local language which is Semitic in origin.
Each of the three islands have their own unique charm. Malta is by far the largest of the three and is home to the capital city of Valletta and the large majority of the population. Gozo is just a 30-minute ferry ride away and is home to numerous towns and villages boasting Renaissance cathedrals and Baroque architecture as well as the magnificent natural attraction, the “Azure Window.” Comino is the smallest of the islands and is largely uninhabited. However, in the summer months, visitors flock to the stunning blue lagoon on daily boat trips.
The beautiful view of St. Julians from my room
I landed in Valletta at 1:00pm Thursday afternoon after a 48-hour travel odyssey from Easter Island (involving 3 connections, 2 nights spent on a plane and 1 very productive layover at home in Atlanta). My first surprise on arrival in Malta was how inexpensive it was to get to my hotel. Despite the fact that my hotel was about 30 minutes from the airport, the ride only cost me 8 euro. Combine that with the fact that the sun was shining, it was probably 60 degrees and I was greeted at the hotel with an upgrade to a suite and I knew I was going to like it here.
My hotel of choice for Malta was the Le Meridien St. Julian’s, another fabulous Starwood property. The St. Julian neighborhood is considered the prime resort area on the island and most of Malta’s high-end resort hotels and casinos are located here. The area is dotted with shops, restaurants, bars and miles of oceanfront boardwalks.
As excited as I was to finally be in Malta, after a new record (for me) of 51 hours without sleep, I crashed pretty early the first night. Luckily, I knew I still had 5 more days to explore all of the Maltese Islands.
Day 2
After getting some sleep, I awoke the next morning ready to play tourist. For my first day, I wanted to start with a visit to the capital city of Valletta. My hotel advised me that I could take a taxi for about 8 euro or take the convenient bus located right outside the front door for just 2 euro. I looked at my map and after realizing Valletta was only about 5 miles away via scenic oceanfront, decided to make a day of it and just walk. While it was a bit chilly (low 60’s) the sun was out for most of the day and it was perfect weather for a long walk. I was able to walk the whole way along the sea and see every inch of the magnificent Grand Harbour that surrounds Valletta.
The fortified city of Valletta
After walking for about an hour and a half, I arrived at the fortified walls of Valletta. The city of Valletta is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the few surviving inhabited walled cities. Valletta’s narrow streets are adorned with beautiful Baroque buildings and churches. From the bastions of the city walls, the panoramic views over the harbour and across the island were amazing. After a stop for lunch at a café in Valletta, I decided to take a water taxi back across the harbor for a different view of the city before continuing my walk back to St. Julians. It was a perfect winter day in Malta.
Day 3
When I awoke Saturday morning, Day 3 in Malta was not looking so perfect outside my window. It was overcast and much cooler and the forecast wasn’t promising. Since I still had several more days on the island, I didn’t feel my usual need to rush out and see everything despite the weather conditions. Instead, I picked up the spa menu in my room and started planning my day. One of the wonderful things about the off-season is that you can decide on a whim that you want to spend the day at the spa and they can manage to work you in. (I got the impression that would have been impossible in the summer.) The winter prices were so good I decided to splurge for a package that included a massage, scrub, wrap, facial and manicure…all for the very reasonable price of 150 euro. It was a terrific way to spend a day and by the end of it I was relaxed to within an inch of consciousness.
Day 4
The weather wasn’t much better when I awoke on Day 4 but at this point it was time to get down to business. I really wanted to visit the neighboring island of Gozo and I only had two full days left to do it. So, weather be damned, I booked the ferry.
In Malta, one of the most popular ways to see the island are via the “hop-on, hop-off” open-top buses. Now, I’m not normally a fan of anything involving the word “bus” when I travel but I’d seen them all over the island and my concierge had recommended the company, so I decided to give it a shot. There were specific buses that worked Gozo and they ran regularly to all the various attractions on the island. The first thing I discovered when I boarded the bus was that there was no way to visit all the stops in one day. In order to catch the last ferry back to Malta that evening, I would need to pick and choose. So, for the first few stops, I remained on the bus. When we arrived at the Ggantija Temples, I decided to get off and check out the temple regarded as the oldest free-standing structure in the world and another UNESCO World Heritage Site (I’m a sucker for World Heritage Sites).
Ramla Bay, Gozo
The temple was interesting but it was very small so I had seen all there was to see in about 20 minutes. Unfortunately, the next bus wasn’t coming by for another 30 minutes after that. And that was when I remembered why I didn’t like bus tours. As I was standing at the bus stop contemplating my next move, I was approached by a very nice taxi driver who was in the process of giving an island tour to two girls from Italy. He was waiting for them while they visited the temple and was clearly looking to fill the one remaining seat in his taxi. He offered me the chance to join their tour for just 10 euro (which was about what I’d spent on the bus) and he would drop me back at the ferry when I was ready. Since they were going to hit all of the places I wanted to go and the girls were not opposed to me joining them, I decided to go for it. (Impatience often wins out over frugality with me.) After all, a basically private tour of the island for just 10 euro was too good to pass up.
And over the next few hours we visited everything I wanted to see on the island and even a few spots I didn’t realize I wanted to see. Our driver, Joe, was very nice and gave us a lot of information along the way…far more personal than a bus tour. We visited a local fishing village, the red-sand beach of Ramla Bay, the Ta’ Pino Sanctuary (which is believed to have miraculous healing powers) and the most famous attraction on Gozo, the natural rock formation known as the “Azure Window.” It was an excellent day despite the less than ideal weather conditions (in winter -you win some, you lose some).
Day 5
For my last day on the island, I decided to rent a car to get out of town and explore the countryside of the main island of Malta. Traffic on the island is pretty intense, lack of road signs makes navigation difficult and they drive on the left over here so it was a bit of a challenge…but I do love a challenge! Another benefit of the off-season, plenty of rental cars available on a whim.
My plan for the day was to visit the picturesque fishing village of Marsaxlokk (which I’d flown over on the flight in), the Mdina in the center of the island, the Blue Grotto on the southwest coast and – just for kicks – the Popeye Village where they filmed the 1980 musical starring Robin Williams.
Luzzu boat, Marsaxlokk
So, I set off from St. Julian and hit the road. The fishing village of Marsaxlokk was really beautiful. I just love all of the colorful luzzo boats. For anyone who missed the photo of the day yesterday, here’s the story of the luzzo boats:
The boats are derived from Phoenician vessels and are painted in vibrant hues of blue, red, yellow and green – they look a bit like a floating box of crayons. The most distinguishing feature of the luzzu are the eyes carved into each side of the bow known as the “Eyes of Osiris.” Osiris was the god of fertility and of the dead. Maltese fishermen believe that the eyes of Osiris ward off evil spirits and keep them safe from the dangers of the sea. Every year in the spring before the fishermen put their boats in the water for summer they paint the eyes afresh to give them maximum protection.
From Marsaxlokk, I made my way along the coast and stopped at the Blue Grotto. Like the Azure Window on Gozo the day before, it was a little more grey than blue on a day like today but impressive nonetheless. From there I worked my way back inland to Mdina, the old capital of Malta with origins tracing back to 1500BC. Like Valletta, the streets of this fortified city are lined with palaces on narrow shady streets. Both Medieval and Baroque architecture feature prominently in the design and Mdina is one of the finest examples of an ancient walled city in all of Europe.
After leaving Mdina and being quite impressed with my navigational abilities thus far, I decided it was time to seek out my last stop for the day, the Popeye Village. For those who may have missed the story of the Popeye Village a few days ago, here it is again:
Starring Robin Williams as Popeye and Shelly Duval as Olive Oyl, the mythical village of “Sweethaven” was created in Anchor Bay in the latter half of 1979 for the filming of the 1980 musical production, Popeye. Tree trunk logs were shipped in from Holland and wood shingles used in the construction of the roof tops were imported all the way from Canada. Construction of the authentic wooden village took an international crew of 165 people 7 months to complete. Filming commenced on January 23, 1980 and wrapped later that year on June 19th. Today, Popeye Village is one of Malta’s top family-friendly attractions. During the summer season, there are Popeye-themed boat trips as well as games and water sports on the village beach.
You can walk right along the cliffside and get a great view of the village so that’s what I did. It’s such an odd contrast to have something that looks like a shiny, new Disney set on an island where everything is so ancient, but the village is really adorable. I bet it’s crawling with kids and families on the average summer day.
After getting back to the hotel and returning my car, I had dinner along the water in St. Julian and pondered what it might be like to visit Malta in the summer. I imagine it would be pretty amazing to be able to get into that beautiful azure water but considering the trade-off would be bigger crowds and higher prices, I think an off-season visit was just the thing for me. Thank you Malta and Le Meridien St. Julians for an incredible week. Next stop, Mauritius!
Posted 1 week, 5 days ago. 1 comment
The "Eyes of Osiris" stare out from a luzzu in the fishing village of Marsaxlokk
Malta is an island nation so it’s no surprise that it has a long and distinguished maritime history. One of the most common symbols of the island are the brightly-colored fishing boats, called luzzu, that are ubiquitous in every harbor. The boats are derived from Phoenician vessels and are painted in vibrant hues of blue, red, yellow and green – they look a bit like a floating box of crayons. The most distinguishing feature of the luzzu are the eyes painted on each side of the bow known as the “Eyes of Osiris.” Osiris was the god of fertility and of the dead. Maltese fishermen believe that the eyes of Osiris ward off evil spirits and keep them safe from the dangers of the sea. Every year in the spring before the fishermen put their boats in the water for summer they paint the eyes afresh to give them maximum protection.
Posted 1 week, 6 days ago. 2 comments
Popeye Village, Malta
Fun fact about Malta…the 1980 musical production Popeye was filmed here on the island. Starring Robin Williams as Popeye and Shelly Duval as Olive Oyl, the mythical village of “Sweethaven” was created in Malta’s Anchor Bay in the latter half of 1979. Tree trunk logs were shipped in from Holland and wood shingles used in the construction of the roof tops were imported all the way from Canada. Construction of the authentic wooden village took an international crew of 165 people 7 months to complete. Filming commenced on January 23, 1980 and wrapped later that year on June 19th. Today, Popeye Village is one of Malta’s top family-friendly attractions. During the summer season, there are Popeye-themed boat tours, animation shows, games and even water sports on the village beach.
Ahu Tongariki - "The Fifteen"
It’s one of the most remote islands on earth. A startling 2,200 miles west of the nearest continent and 1,290 miles east of the nearest populated island. The United Nations has proclaimed Easter Island the most isolated inhabited island in the world. It’s also one of the world’s greatest mysteries and an undisputed archaeological treasure. The island is home to more than 20,000 archaeological sites. But despite intensive study of these sites, the question still remains: What caused the dramatic rise and fall of this ancient Polynesian culture?
Known as Rapa Nui to the native population and Isla de Pascua to Chileans, the English name commemorates its European discovery by a Dutch expedition on Easter Sunday in 1722.
I arrived on Easter Island late Wednesday night with 6 days to explore this perhaps most fascinating of the world’s sacred sites. Since most accommodation on the island consists of simple guest houses, I’d booked a room at the highly recommended Kaimana Inn. My host, Marcelo, was cheerfully awaiting my arrival at the airport late that night and after more than 24 hours of travel to reach the island I was grateful for the short drive into town and to my bed for the next few nights.
After a solid night’s sleep, I awoke the next morning and joined the rest of the guests at Kaimana for breakfast. I decided to start my day by exploring the island’s only town of Hanga Roa, just a short walk from my hotel. I made my way to the water and immediately spotted my first moai which seemed to be guarding the town’s small harbor.
It’s hard to appreciate just how powerful a visit to this sacred island is without a basic understanding of its turbulent past. So I will try my best to explain what is known about the history of Easter Island.
Moai at Ahu Tahai
No one knows the true story behind the moai but the most common theory is that they were religious symbols of gods and ancestors. Archaeologists believe that Easter Island may have been inhabited as early as AD 400. Beginning around 900 AD, the islanders began carving the moai out of the soft volcanic rock forming the sides of the Rano Raraku crater (where more than 400 unfinished moai remain today). The giant moai average 12 tons in weight and 13ft in height with the tallest known a staggering 69ft.
Once the moai were carved, they were then transported to a family burial platform called an “ahu” which were located all around the island. The family dead were then usually buried in a vault beneath the moai to transmit mana, or spiritual power, to the living family chief. It is believed that the islanders transported these giant statues atop tree trunks and that ultimately led to the total deforestation of the island. Today there are more than 850 moai spread throughout the island.
While it’s fairly clear how the moai were made and transported, the big mystery is why? It seems for a period of time the entire island was obsessed with the carving and transportation of the moai. And then, for some reason that will never be known, it stopped as abruptly as it had begun. It appears the islanders experienced some dramatic event that caused a complete change in their belief system almost overnight. The production of moai was utterly abandoned with many left around the island still in transit.
A period of tribal wars followed and all of the erected moai were toppled, presumably to break the mana of the family chief they protected. All of the moai standing today were re-erected by archaeologists in recent times.
When the first Europeans arrived on Easter Island in 1722, they found a once-great culture in rapid decline. Deforestation had led to environmental disaster and a shortage in the food supply. Most of the island’s natives were carted off to Peru to work as slaves in the 19th century or died in epidemics, leaving only a few behind to carry on the Rapa Nui culture.
Today, the descendents of those few Rapa Nui are helping their island experience a Renaissance. Many of the island’s archaeological treasures have been restored and protected against future damage and Easter Island has opened its doors to tourists from all over the world. Luckily for those of us who do visit, the minimal tourist facilities and logistical difficulty in reaching the island have kept the tourist throngs to a trickle compared to many of the world’s other great sites. This was one of my favorite things about the island – the opportunity to experience one of the world’s most spectacular archaeological treasures without the threat of a bus full of Japanese tourists arriving.
Thursday, January 12th
Ana Kai Tangata Caves
Despite the small size of Easter Island, it is home to three dormant volcanoes. The nearest to town, Rano Kau, was said to be the most spectacular so the next morning I decided to hike it. On the walk from town, I passed two giant caves at Ana Kai Tangata. They were stunning enough to be their own tourist attraction and I was surprised that they were barely mentioned on my map (which just goes to show how many amazing sites this island has). The hike to the top of the crater was steep but the terrain was not difficult and in a little over an hour I was staring down into the lake-filled center. Spectacular, indeed.
During my long layover in Lima on the way to Easter Island, I’d done a Twitter search for any mentions of the island, primarily to see if any of my fellow travel bloggers were also visiting. Surprisingly, I saw a tweet from @aliadventures7 that she and a friend would be arriving on the island next day from Tahiti. So I sent her a message and we had arranged to meet up for drinks one night in town. As it turns out, she and her friend Amanda were both originally from Atlanta! Go figure…down here in the middle of nowhere I run into two fellow travel-lovers from Atlanta – you’ve gotta love Twitter.
Sunset at Ahu Tahai
When I met up with Ali and Amanda that night, we decided to walk over to Ahu Tahai and try to catch the sunset from what I’d read was THE spot on the island for sunsets. I’d gone by there the night before but clouds had ruined most of the fun. Determined not to be deprived of an amazing sunset, I wanted to try again. And it was well worth the hike. We were treated to perhaps the most spectacular sunset I’ve ever seen in my life. It’s amazing what a few moai can add to an already picturesque sunset. As the sun slowly dropped behind the giant moai, it was literally hypnotic.
Still basking in the glow of the sunset, Ali and I decided to grab a glass of wine and sat for an hour or so rehashing our travels – where we’d been and where we dreamed of going. I love chatting with people who are just as obsessed with travel as I am…it almost makes me feel normal. Ha!
Friday, January 13th
The next day, fate intervened in my travels – as it often does. I’d posted a few pictures of Easter Island on Facebook and my friend Jill from high school (who is now a travel writer in London) sent me a message asking if I was staying at the explora Rapa Nui hotel, she needed a review of it for her website. I said no but I’d be happy to do a review for her if she could work it out with the hotel for me to move over there. Within a few hours, Jill had worked her magic and the plans were set for me to spend my last two nights at the island’s ultra-luxury eco hotel – all expenses paid. Since the usual $1,000 a night rate at the hotel included gourmet meals, drinks and daily island explorations led by local Rapa Nui guides, I was very excited to get a chance to experience this amazing property (more on that and all the pictures here) which was not in my RTW budget!
Saturday, January 14th
Moai in transit at Rano Raraku
While at the explora I was able to visit all of the remaining sites on the island that I hadn’t seen yet. On my first day, I joined two guides and a family from Kansas City going to the Rano Raraku quarry, the site where all of the moai were “born.” It was incredible to see the sheer rock face with visible indentations where each moai was carved. Hundreds of laborers must have worked full time here for years. You could look down from the top of the quarry and clearly see the path where the stream of moai were in transit when they were so abruptly abandoned. The quarry is a very spiritual site and you could almost feel the power of the mana as our guides explained its history.
Sunday, January 15th
On my last full day on the island, I squeezed in a lot. I spent the morning with head guide Joanna (who is from Southern California) exploring the northern part of the island. We started at Easter Island’s most famous site and the image that probably comes to mind when you think of the island, Ahu Tongariki aka “The Fifteen.” It’s the largest collection of re-erected moais on the island and was just restored in 1996. Joanna and I had it all to ourselves for the better part of an hour and I walked all over taking pictures and just breathing it all in. I’d been looking forward to visiting this spot since I landed on the island 4 days earlier and it was totally worth the wait.
After leaving Ahu Tongariki, Joanna and I hiked the northern edge of the island winding our way through a small fishing village and finally to the island’s two best beaches, Ovahe and Anakena. At Anakena, still more moai stand guard by the sea. For lunch that day, Joanna and I joined a few other explora guests for a seaside picnic fit for a king. I sat back with my glass of champagne and grilled shrimp listening to the waves crash against the rocks and simply couldn’t believe my luck to be here. What an experience.
Moai at Anakena Beach
That afternoon, I joined a small group from the hotel for a snorkeling trip out to Motu Nui in Easter Island’s startlingly blue waters. The water here is considered some of the clearest on earth with up to 200ft of visibility thanks to a lack of plankton in the water. The flip side of that is that there are very few fish to see once you’re underwater but the clear, cobalt waters are still quite an impressive sight.
That night I joined some friends from my hike the previous day – Nicola, Walt and their son Matt from Kansas City- for dinner at the hotel before falling into my plush bed for one last night of sleep before heading back to Santiago.
Monday, January 16th
Sadly, today it is time to leave. I had dreamed of visiting Easter Island for several years and after 5 days on the island I still feel like I could spend a few more weeks here. It’s rare that a place you’ve built up in your mind lives up to your expectations. This mysterious island and its native people actually exceeded my every expectation and I’m only sorry I didn’t try harder to get here sooner. So much culture to experience and so many sights to see on this magnificent little gem of an island in the middle of the Pacific.
If Easter Island isn’t on your bucket list, add it immediately. It’s worth the effort to get here.
Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago. Add a comment
Valletta, Malta
After two full days of travel from Easter Island, I finally landed in Malta yesterday afternoon. What a gorgeous island this is! It’s definitely a lot colder here than in Chile (today was in the high 50′s) but as long as the sun is shining it’s perfect weather for sightseeing. I spent today walking along the sea from St. Julians and Sliema to Valletta. Then I devoted the afternoon to exploring Valletta. This weekend I’m looking forward to seeing more of what Malta has to offer as well as visiting the neighboring island of Gozo.
Posted 2 weeks, 3 days ago. Add a comment
