Saturday
I see that the swear-blogger with a nice turn of phrase, Obnoxio The Clown, has developed a love for Malta. Good observations he makes, not least about the lovely ladies of said island. Indeed - I am married to one of them. Anyway, in a week's time from today, yours truly will complete his scuba diving course - done with the PADI organisation - in the island of Gozo, just to the north of Malta. Weather conditions should be good. I will not be allowed to dive more than a certain level in my course - you have to do more training to go much deeper - but the views promise to be spectacular.
The seas around Malta are very deep, so I don't know whether I will get to see any wrecks. One of the grim aspects of that part of the world is how much stuff was sunk during WW2. There must be loads of bits of old RAF and German aircraft down there as well, I would imagine.
I hope you know that the biggest Great White Shark ever caught was caught off Malta? It was 23' long and weighed 3 tons!
Posted by Jonathan at September 19, 2009 07:52 PM
Yes and I met the bloke who caught it, and ate in his restaurant.
Smashing place Malta.
The local ladies derive a lot of their style from Italy, and their genes from North Africa, a very good combination indeed.
Have a smashing time Johnathan, and dont get eaten or drowned.
Who will write all the threads then ? ;-)
Posted by RAB at September 19, 2009 08:04 PM
The story of the 2nd Siege of Malta is one of my favourites. Lovely island - I enjoyed my time working there but am happy to keep it to summer visits nowadays.
The Obnoxio needs to walk for about 10 minutes towards Spinola Bay. He'll find some lovely, cheap restaurants there.
The Maltese are wonderful people. They can be a little closed off when it comes to foreigners, however. Well done marrying one!
Posted by John Louis Swaine at September 19, 2009 08:33 PM
If Jonathan is mentioning Malta in the same breath as WWII, he should give the country its proper designation ... Malta, GC.
Posted by Verity at September 20, 2009 01:33 AM
About those old wrecks 'n aircraft bit - remember the conscientious diver's credo, will you?
"Take only pictures, leave only bubbles."
Doesn't help knowing the next bloke along will surely snaffle any choice bit you leave on the ocean floor, but at least you can feel morally superior...
Posted by Jim at September 20, 2009 12:46 PM
CIA (Congratulations In Advance)!
I hadn't thought there was much in the way of reefs around Malta, but I hope there is much to see.
As for wrecked planes and ships - probably not much: I think the vast majority were lost well offshore in deep water.
For ships: go to the Pacific and dive Truk Lagoon or Iron Bottom Sound.
For planes: come to Chicago. Really. There are lots of wrecked Wildcats and Avengers in Lake Michigan, relics of the WWII carrier training program. (During the War, the Navy converted two excursion steamers into four-funnel, coal-burning, side-paddlewheel aircraft carriers. From the downtown skyscrapers, one could watch the Top Guns of 1943 practicing deck landings .)
Posted by Rich Rostrom at September 21, 2009 03:54 AM
