Thurs 17th Jan
We left home at 0300hrs, we left the car at Airparks and got to Manchester Airport in good time. The flight (BA6822) loaded early but was held up and took off at 0735. It was a good flight and we got good views of the Alps as we flew over. We landed at Luqa at 1215 local time and it was raining. We picked up our hire car and were a bit put out to find that they wanted more money than agreed and they wanted paying in Euros not Sterling, we paid up reluctantly,(when we got home emailed and complained).
We set off for Mellieha and as usual Richie's navigationwas was spot on. We booked in and then walked up the town. It was pouring with rain and there was water cascading down the steps off the upper streets like a waterfall. We went into a restaurant called Randi and had a meal. We went back to the hotel unpacked and had a kip. We had stayed at the Panorama the first time we visited Malta in 1995, we found it not much changed, a new reception area but otherwise the same, still the same bedspreads, curtains and tablecloths!
In the evening we had a drink in the hotel bar where Richie recognised the barman from the last time we'd stayed there! We had a walk round and back for an early night
Fri 18th
We were woken up at 0600 by very loud thunder and lightening echoeing around the bay, it was not raining though. We had breakfast. We found that breakfast alternated, one day it was bacon, boiled eggs and beans, next day sausages, scrambled eggs and beans, there was plenty of bread rolls and jam, also ham and cheese slices. We went out for a drive we went to Cirkewwa which is where the ferry leaves for Gozo then on along the peninsula visiting various small bays. At the end of the peninsula there was a small church and a statue of the Madonna, it was also a preservation area dor Shearwaters.
In another bay, Amier Bay, there was a shanty town of holiday homes, there was an old chap picking through seaweed on the beach for fishing bait. 
We went on the The Red Tower from which there were magnificent views.
We then went on to Golden Bay which is where we had stayed on our second visit to Malta. It was very much changed and is now a very upmarket Radisson resort. It was nice and sunny but cool in the breeze. We walked up to the top of the town for a Chinese meal which was very nice.Sat 19th
After Breakfast we drove a bit further afield, again calling at various small bays one, Gnejna Bay, was very pretty looking toward the cliffs on Gozo. There were a couple of fishing boats being pulled out of the water and a sandy beach. There were also small houses or maybe boat houses/holiday shacks carved out of the cliffs.
We found navigation very difficult as the map would give a road number but the roads themselves had no indication of which number they were, we would follow 2 or 3 signs to where we wanted to go and then there would be no more signs and various turning to choose from. This made for very interesting driving, especially as some of the roads were new, paid for with Euro money, and then they would suddenly turn into the worst of potholed cart track, you could be going for miles on an old rutted road and all of a sudden there would be a couple of miles of new tarmac, sighs of relief and then round the next corner back to potholes, it was quite adventurous at times. We managed to find our way to Dingli cliffs and stopped at Bobbys for a drink.
We then made our way back to Gnejna Bay and sat in the car and read/sudokod in the sunshine, it was a bit warmer and the wind had dropped.As it was V's birthday we went to a restaurant called Ta Peter in Mellieha and had a super meal of 3 different local fish.
Sun 20th
We decided to go to see Popeye Village but the road was closed, an old local chap was sitting in his car and said he would show us the way round, he led us and another car up the bypass to another track which was very kind of him, we were a bit embarresed as we had no change on us and wanted to give him something for his trouble, in fact we thought he would come asking but he didn't he just drove off with a wave.
The village was not open but there was a lot of work going on obviousley preparing it for the season. We then drove past the Sulmen Palace hotel again the road gave out and we ended up looking over a cliff with Mellieha bay one side and St Paul's Bay the other. It was a beautiful sunny day and there were lots of wild flowers, the whole countryside was yellow with Oxalis in full flower. 
We sat and enjoyed the view for a while and then local people started arriving and settling in for the afternoon. There were various small level patches on an otherwise very craggy and rock strewn hillside but on each flat piece of land a family would set up tables and chairs parasols etc childrens bikes and other toys. We went on from there to Mistra Bay which is a small bay in St Paul's Bay and we sat and read/sudokod in the sunshine. There were dozens of families here as well enjoying the sun with their families, they seemed to have half their homes with them, almost camping out with gazebos etc.We went to the Chinese restaurant again.
Mon 21st
We went to Bugibba, it was sunny again but a very cool breeze off the sea. As we walked along we got grabbed by a time share salesman and as it was quite cold decided to go with him for an hour or so out of the wind, he promised us wine, beer and perfume just for going to look. It was quite interesting and the apartments were certainly very nice with a lovely sheltered pool area. The girl who gave us the presentation was English and lived in Melleiha. It was interesting to talk to her and she told us that they had a group of people who ran a dog rescue centre and also caught cats and had them neutered, we had certainly noticed that around the hotel instead of being lots of scrawny cats there were only a few who were healthy and plump. This was in Qawra and so we had quite a long walk back along the promenade which was nice but again breezy. We stopped in the square and noticed that there were armed police about, it turned out that they were escorting money to or from the bank. We saw this quite a few times afterwards, armoured cars flanked by police cars with sirens going obviously moving money.
We drove back to Mellieha and went to the Sulmun Palace but drove to the right of it this time and ended up near to St Paul's islands. There was a very different sort of landscape, instead of being rocky it looked like great mounds of dumped soil, we couldn't find out if it was natural or man made.
We clambered down to sea level and there were old ruined military buildings. We climbed back up then sat in the car for a while enjoying the sunshine.For our evening meal we went to the Imperial Band Club and had fish and chips which was very nice and reasonably priced. The club is like a working mens club but is the home of one of the many bands on the island. There were pool tables, a lot of old men sitting around and 2 televisions blaring away.
Tue 22nd
We went to Marsaxlokk it took some finding because of previously reported problem with roads. We went via Birzebbuga and Pretty Bay, Pretty Bay is not very pretty and there is a huge container port looming over it. Ther was a market at Marsaxlokk and lots of boats out of the water being worked on, painting etc. We noticed a difference to last time we were there. It used to be a small fishing harbour but there is now a large new boatyard which was very busy with boats of all sizes being "serviced". It was cloudy with a cold wind so we drove to Dingli and sat in the car for a while. We had our meal at Randi again.
Wed 23rd
It was a cloudy, windy day so we drove up past the Red Tower and sat looking over the ferry port, the ferry was plunging up and down in very rough seas. Went to band club for meal.
Thurs 24th
Woke up to a terrific storm, very strong gale force winds with heavy showers, there had been strong winds blowing all night. We only ventured out to go and post some cards and to go to the cafe on the corner to film the storm, once we got there we had to stay quite a while as it rained so hard, it was difficult to stand against the wind. It was the worst storm for 20 years we were told. Went to the Chinese Restaurant later when the storm abated.
Fri 25th
The weather was better with much reduced wind and some sunny periods, in the afternoon the wind dropped altogether. We drove around the coast through a place called Pembroke and round St George's Bay to Sleima. There were still some pretty impressive waves crashing on the shore with seaweed covering the road in St Paul's Bay and broken boats in St George's Bay.
We went on the craft village at the old airfield in Ta' Qali. We also visited the Aviation museum which was very interesting with quite a few exhibits, including a Spitfire and a Hurricane that had been in the sea since the war.
We had a meal in the cafe at the craft village and it was lovely and sunny. When we got back to Melleiha we called at a snack bar and got some food which we ate on the bench overlooking the sea, it was a lovely calm, mild evening .
Sat 26th
We drove to the statue of the Madonna and walked almost the width of the peninsula. We saw a young couple who seemed to be dangling something off the cliff with fishing line and we couldn't work out what they were doing, when we asked they said they were putting out bait for rats to make the area safe for the Shearwaters to breed. We also saw a chap releasing pigeons, he said there are about 1000 pigeon fanciers in Malta. We went to a cafe on the beach for a snack, it was sheltered there and very hot, we had a short walk along the beach then got a snack from the stall in town and ate it on the bench again.
Sun 27th
We got a bus into Valletta as it was market day. The market was huge and noisy but mostly cheap clothes and so on. We did buy a cheap pair of binoculars because we had not taken any with us as we had not expected to see the variety of birds that we did. When we were there previously there were no birds as they were hunted regularly There were stalls on the market selling finches which when people bought them were put in brown paper bags like sweets, we also saw a few tiny puppies for sale. Another thing we had noticed on this holiday was that there were a lot more pet dogs wheras before there only seemed to be strays. We walked through the town and ended up having lunch in a cafe by the Saluting Battery just in time to see and hear the Noon-Day Gun being fired.
It was a lovely sunny day again.
Mon 28th
We went to Gozo on the ferry, it was very windy on deck.
We drove to the Inland Sea and spent a long time there looking at the millions of fossils in the rocks there. A quick stop at the craft village then on to Marsalform Bay where there were salt pans and more wierd rock formations. We sat for a while and had a picnic then carried on to Ramia Bay and Calypso's Cave, Rich was very brave and climbed down, I chickened out. We drove a bit further and the road ended, it seemed to have been a landslip so we parked and walked, we found ourselves at what had obviously been a grand hotel but was now abandoned and derelict, grand chandeliers were stil there with birds nesting in them, remains of terraces overlooking the sea and a pool, quite spooky. Next stop was Ggantija Temples, awesome ancient rock temples more or less in the centre of the island. After that we got lost and wandered around on atrocious roads for a while, the scenery was wonderful until we found ourselves at sea level on a narrow track in a vast quarry with lorries trying to pass us. We eventually found our way back to the ferry and crossed back to Malta. We had a meal in the Band Club.
Tue 29th
We set off to go to the Nature Reserve but it was closed so we went to a nearby holiday complex which was very nice and had a drink by their pool in a lovely sheltered spot. Sat at the beach cafe for a while then went and sat on the road to Popeye Village and read. Sunny but breezy. Meal in Band Club.
Wed 30th
Went to Mdina, here again we found quite a few changes, firstly there were 5 or 6 people stopping us with leaflets to various attractions, most seemed to be audio visual presentations. There were also a lot of vehicles which seemd to be mostly construction workers, there was a lot of work going on at various buildings. We had a drink at the cafe on the walls then had a walk round Rabat and a quick look at the Roman temple. it was sunny with a cool breeze. Sat in Gnejna Bay and had a picnic and read for a while, there were some very hungry looking dogs around after our biscuits. Meal in Band Club.
Thurs 31st
Lovely day so we hired a couple of sun beds and sat on the beach for most of it, again a breeze but where we were was sheltered and very hot. Meal in Band Club.
Fri 1st Feb
Drove over the island to the coast above Valletta and visited Fort Rinella which is a military museum housing the world's largest canon (100 tons)
Drove back to Valletta and called at Senglea & Kalkara. At Kalkara we were opposite the battery where they fired the noon day gun and as it was noon again we saw it fired directly at us.
We went back via Dingli and called for a drink at Bobby's. It was sunny but windy all day. Meal at the Band Club.
Sat 2nd
We went to the bird Ghadira reserve. It was very interesting and we were amazed at the variety of birds. There were many warblers, including Ceti's, and fly catchers, pochard, sandpiper, little grebe, black necked grebe, coot, moorhen, stonechat, chiffchaff, sparrows. We sat in the hide for an hour or more and then on the way out we were lucky enough to see a chameleon. Having never seen one before we were fascinated to watch it very slowly moving along a branch and change colour from dark to light green as it went, it was quite small probably less than 2". We very annoyed that neither of us had a camera with us. We spent the rest of the day in the sun on the beach. We tried the other band club for a meal, we had tried before but walked out when we hadn't been served for over 5 minutes. Anyway we decided to give them another chance, it seemed more upmarket than the one we had been using, properly laid tables etc. Whilst we were there there were lots of people coming in dressed up and we were told that they were going to be playing round the square in practice for the big carnival in Valletta. They were all band members, from 7 to 70 it seemed, and all dressed up in bright costumes in electric green, shocking pink etc which seemed to have a fish/sea theme. The meal was not very good so we went to the other club for a drink whilst watching the band, they were very slow and it got quite cold waiting.
Sun 3rd
We decided to go to the bird reserve agin, with cameras, in the hope of seeing chameleon again. We were lucky to see not one but two and they were much bigger than the one the day before. One was very green sitting amongst the leaves and the other sitting on a branch was dark grey.
We watched them fascinated for ages, other people coming by saw what we were looking at and dismissed them saying that they had them in their gardens all the time! We went and sat on the cliff by the Madonna statue for a while then called back at the bird reserve to see if there was anything different about in the afternoon, it was actually quieter. Meal at Band Club.
Mon 4th
Went to Valletta to see the carnival, we couldn't get on one bus it was so full but got on the next one standing, got seats before too long as people got off. The carnival floats were all standing in the bus station and they were fantastic, huge and very brightly coloured with many moving parts, loud music playing and all the children dressed up, we saw lots of princesses and princes, and more spider men than we could count.
We walked into the town and it was absolutely heaving with people, very noisy lots of excited children.
We ended up in the cafe by the battery at noon again had lunch and saw the gun beeing fired yet again. We also watched the sea plane coming in to land. When we got back to Melleiha we had a snack at the beach cafe.
Tue 5th
Went to Siggiewi to have a look at "The Limeston Heritage" an attraction which explained the history of the way that local limestone had been worked and how it had been used in the buildings in Malta.
It was interesting and very well presented. Drove on to Marsaxlokk, it was a lot busier than the week before.
We walked round the market and then along the fishing boats to a small beach, then we went to a cafe for a meal. The service was very slow, almost an hour, but we didn't mind as it was such a pleasant spot to sit in the sun just watching the people and their boats.
Called at Gnejna Bay and sat for a while.
Sunny but breezy again.
Wed 6th
Drove to Paradise bay and went down to the beach, nobody there just workmen getting the cafe ready for the season. Had a walk around the lanes above and came across the dog rescue centre. Spent the rest of the day on the beach. Went to have meal at Band Club but no cooking as usual couple were having a night off. Went to Chinese Restaurant.
Thurs 7th
Off to airport after breakfast, there in plenty of time, flight was announced as beeing half an hour late but in the end it was only about 15-20 mins. When we arrived at Manchester had to wait about 20 mins in the cold for bus to car park. Beeing rush hour it took us 2 hours to drive home.
All in all we had a very good, relaxing holiday, the weather was good except for a couple of stormy days and we were able to get out and enjoy the sunshine. Being out of season there was not much choice of restaurants and so we seemed to spend a lot of money on our evening meals, in hindsight it would probably be better to go self catering or pay a bit more for all inclusive. We chose the Panorama because we knew that it was not in a high rise area and that it had good views, unfortunately the hotel faced north, in the summer this was not a problem,except that the pool was never warm, but in winter it meant that there was no sun on the balconies or terrace. We were glad we had hired a car because we were able to find a nice sunny view point and sit in it rather than in the hotel room.
The hotel was alright but it let itself down with maintenance problems that could have easily been solved. The curtains were hanging off the rail, the bedspreads were old and had rips and cigarette burns, there were no shelves or hooks, we bought some cheap self stick ones and stuck them to the wardrobe. In the bathroom there was nowhere to put anything, just one tiny shelf, a loose loo seat and a drain smell, we bought incense sticks and burnt them. There were no proper hangers in the wardrobe, just a few ropey, mostly broken, ones left by other visitors. The linen was changed regularly and was nice and white and the cleaner came every day she never seemed to get into the corners or behind the bathroom door and there were a few mildew marks on the walls. All these things could so easily have been put right to give an overall much more positive impression. On the plus side the mattresses were very good and the air con/heating unit was very efficient and we were never cold and there was always plenty of hot water and clean towels.
The guests were mixed, quite a few English on long stays, quite a few older men on their own and some women but it seemed to fill up at weekends with Germans who just stayed for a few days, by the time we left it was full mostly with Germans.
We noticed quite a few differences on the island, the green buses had all gone, we were told that they were bring sunk (minus their engines) off shore to make an artificial reef. Most of the old, clapped out british cars had gone, the few we saw had been restored as classic cars, all chrome and gleaming paintwork. There was a lot of building work going on, we were told that instead of the whole island being governed from Valletta each town now has it's own local council, these have been allocated money for redevelopment. There are also a few new roads, even dual carriageways, unfortuneatly the Maltese don't seem to know what to do with them, they either straddle the white line or stay in the right hand lane, they don't seem to get the concept that it is for overtaking.
The country was lovely and green and the farmers were busy with theire rotavators getting their planting done. There were wild flowers in abundance so I am enclosing some of the pictures I took of them.
