Friday, March 16, 2018 - Culture Shock

We have been exploring Malta for the past few days and can’t stop commenting on the obvious differences to our past five months stay in Monastir, Tunisia. To name a few: 

Although the first language is Maltese, everyone speaks English.  No more miming, umm-ing and ahh-ing.  There are even English book stores that we have already avidly browsed in.

Church bells mark the hour and half hour, replacing the five calls to prayer in minor key.

The vaulted nave of St John Co-Cathedral.  Every inch of that ceiling, unusually painted with oil paint, covered with the life of St John.  

Catholic art adorns the churches comprised of cherubs, angels, madonnas, saints and knights.  The forbidden animate objects of Islam are the artistic themes here in a big way.

Pristine!  No plastic bottles, wrappers or bags

Garbage pails everywhere.  Very little litter and no piles of construction rubble in sight, a feature that was so distressing in Tunisia.  Yesterday's visit to Mdina showed such immaculate care of the streets that we couldn't stop exclaiming.

Compared to the somber dark and full body clothing of Tunisians, the colour and variety of apparel is a delight.

The availability of commercial products is shockingly abundant. 

In the vicinity of Valletta there are at least 12 marinas.

Pleasure yachts abound and the dinghy club is active on a daily basis - more signs of abundant cash.  At least a dozen well-stocked chandleries and dealers of all boat parts.  

Those little specks out there is a fleet of lasers.  We are particularly partial to sailing schools of kids.

Very wide variety of fresh produce both imported and home grown.  Pork products including the best of the best hams from Italy.  

Even though it's still low season, the tourists sites of which there are many are still busy and thriving.  Poor Tunisia!  A handful of tourists were just arriving as we left.

Valletta is tourist central for good reason.  All very tasteful and European.

At least 19 cranes are visible on the skyline from Milly's deck.   We take this as a sign of solid economy.  Sadly, some of the buildings are much higher than the older five or six floor buildings that line the harbour but in a country that boasts the second highest population density in the world after Bangladesh (according to our land guide), I guess the small footprint here requires it.

View from the walls of Mdina, the highest point of the island and an immaculate walled city.

Green fields, parks with green grass, and trees in spring blossom.  Little dust and no blowing Sahara sand which rested on our boat especially after rainfall.

Unfortunately, chain stores and restaurants are also prevalent - Burger King, MacDonald's, even Cinnabon.  

Deliberating over the lunch menu with friends who we wintered with in Tunisia.  Prices are hurtful but the food is of a welcome variety.

All these luxuries, in our eyes, are accompanied by a price tag that we are also not used to. A street food lunch in Monastir set us back about $3 for both of us. Here, we pay about $25. Ouch!  Oh, well. The price to pay for Western sophistication!  For now we are welcoming all of it.

Just a cool building.