Spring Break Day 6: Farewell, Malta

In case you haven’t figured this out about me already, I like being a nomadic traveler.

Sometimes I skim a few places rather rapidly; sometimes I dive in deep on one place.

This trip is about exploring new places. Maybe some of them I will return to for a longer visit.

Pages of Imperfection · Senglea, Malta

I started this morning with a walk around the neighborhood where I’ve been staying:

Bormla, Malta

Bormla, Malta

Bormla, Malta

Bormla, Malta

Bormla, Malta

Bormla, Malta

Bormla, Malta

Bormla, Malta

Bormla, Malta

Bormla, Malta

Bormla, Malta

Bormla, Malta

Bormla, Malta

Bormla, Malta

Senglea, Malta

And then, since I had some time to spare, I drove a meandering route through the south of the island to the airport:

Marsaskala, Malta

Marsaskala, Malta

Marsaskala, Malta

Marsaxlokk, Malta

Marsaxlokk, Malta

Marsaxlokk, Malta

Marsaxlokk, Malta

And now … for something fun and new! It’s a short flight (one hour) from Malta to Tunisia. So … since I was “in the neighborhood,” I made made this part of my nomadic plan.

We arrived near sunset, which made for some fun cloud- and sun-scapes on the way in.

above Manzil Bu Zalafah, Tunisia

On approach to Tunis Airport, above Manzil Bu Zalafah, Tunisia

above Lake of Tunis, Tunis, Tunisia

For a kid from a small town in northern Minnesota, I’ve been tremendously fortunate in my travels. Maybe it’s because I came from this remote, rural upbringing that I’ve made a point of getting out and seeing whatever I can.

I’m insatiably curious about this planet we live on and how we construct different styles of homes, villages, languages, cultures, mindsets, ways of living. I’ll probably die on a plane going to some crazy remote place. And, if so, I’ll die happy.

So, anyway, here I am for my first time ever visiting Africa. (Caveat: Most Tunisians don’t really think of themselves as African. “Africa is south of the Sahara,” as my driver told me.)

By the time I had cleared customs, it was dark out, so I went directly to my hotel. For the next couple of days, I will have plenty of time to explore.

I followed along on my map. Here’s a street name we don’t see back home!

Tunis, Tunisia

I went up to the hotel’s rooftop restaurant for dinner and found live music – my favorite!

Hotel Dar El Marsa, La Marsa, Tunisia

I was just informed that I was quite “courageous” for trying this dish, which the Tunisian Jews call something like kyla and the Tunisian Muslims call madfouna.

Whatever you call it, it is The Yum!

Hotel Dar El Marsa, La Marsa, Tunisia