- Time of past OR future Camino
- Next: Maltes 2024; Kumano Kodo & Frances 2025
Last Christmas I was on the Camino Portugues and this Christmas I am on the Camino Maltes. How did this come to be?
Rewind a month or two ago, my kid and I always travel over the holidays and heard wonderful things about walking in Malta, and Malta in general. And the climate seemed right - that is, we would be leaving cold and snowy Pennsylvania for someplace a bit warmer. Plane tickets booked.
And then, while researching walking paths I stumbled upon a relatively newly-approved route, the Camino Maltes, which starts on Malta and then continues on through Sicily, Sardinia and Spain. And who am I to resist the lure of the Camino?
Some more research connected me with James, who is in all respects the keeper of the Camino Maltes in Malta. Yesterday he met us in Valletta and provided us not only with our credentials, but also a fascinating impromptu mini tour of Valletta. The man is all things charming and informative with an undeniable love for his country.
Since the Maltes section is relatively short, 30km or so, originally we were going to do it in one day, December 28. But when we found ourselves on Christmas Day in Rabat, the starting point of the Maltes, with several hours left in the day (having done a 10 mile spectacular walk along the Victoria and Dwejra Lines, which I will eventually post on the “where did you walk locally” thread), we decided to start our Camino today instead.
Rabat sits high on a hill, overlooking almost all of Malta. Starting at St. Paul’s Catacombs (closed, as most everything obviously was) we followed the short path James provided to Mdina, which is exactly what its name describes - narrow streets of stone, shops and restaurants, and plenty of churches along the way. And while the shops were closed, the place was surprisingly lively with families and visitors alike walking the streets, eating gelato (very good gelato) and generally enjoying the good weather and the holiday. Very different than the Camino Portugues on Christmas Day.
From Mdina it is all downhill, literally. We managed to get about the first 8 km or so done, walking on small country roads between fields and towns, through Zebbug and ending the day in Siggiewi. Definitely a pleasant path, and one we are looking forward to finishing in a few days.
A couple of notes -
*The path is fairly well marked outside of towns, but inside them it is not - my understanding is that permission to post signs is difficult to get.
*No mileage markers! This is either a positive or negative, depending on your personality.
*Stamps are hard to come by - we got only one today.
*This was almost all paved roads, which was admittedly hard on my old knees and feet.
*Much of the route follows the Malta Heritage Trail which provides the benefit of explanatory signage at places of interest.
Rewind a month or two ago, my kid and I always travel over the holidays and heard wonderful things about walking in Malta, and Malta in general. And the climate seemed right - that is, we would be leaving cold and snowy Pennsylvania for someplace a bit warmer. Plane tickets booked.
And then, while researching walking paths I stumbled upon a relatively newly-approved route, the Camino Maltes, which starts on Malta and then continues on through Sicily, Sardinia and Spain. And who am I to resist the lure of the Camino?
Some more research connected me with James, who is in all respects the keeper of the Camino Maltes in Malta. Yesterday he met us in Valletta and provided us not only with our credentials, but also a fascinating impromptu mini tour of Valletta. The man is all things charming and informative with an undeniable love for his country.
Since the Maltes section is relatively short, 30km or so, originally we were going to do it in one day, December 28. But when we found ourselves on Christmas Day in Rabat, the starting point of the Maltes, with several hours left in the day (having done a 10 mile spectacular walk along the Victoria and Dwejra Lines, which I will eventually post on the “where did you walk locally” thread), we decided to start our Camino today instead.
Rabat sits high on a hill, overlooking almost all of Malta. Starting at St. Paul’s Catacombs (closed, as most everything obviously was) we followed the short path James provided to Mdina, which is exactly what its name describes - narrow streets of stone, shops and restaurants, and plenty of churches along the way. And while the shops were closed, the place was surprisingly lively with families and visitors alike walking the streets, eating gelato (very good gelato) and generally enjoying the good weather and the holiday. Very different than the Camino Portugues on Christmas Day.
From Mdina it is all downhill, literally. We managed to get about the first 8 km or so done, walking on small country roads between fields and towns, through Zebbug and ending the day in Siggiewi. Definitely a pleasant path, and one we are looking forward to finishing in a few days.
A couple of notes -
*The path is fairly well marked outside of towns, but inside them it is not - my understanding is that permission to post signs is difficult to get.
*No mileage markers! This is either a positive or negative, depending on your personality.
*Stamps are hard to come by - we got only one today.
*This was almost all paved roads, which was admittedly hard on my old knees and feet.
*Much of the route follows the Malta Heritage Trail which provides the benefit of explanatory signage at places of interest.
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