October 2016 - Week 4

Armier Bay storm

Shark in our bay!

Monday 24th to Monday 31st October 2016

Monday Sam spent the morning at Armier Bay with Tina. I went to Xemxija Café for a cappuccino and a slice of excellent apple pie. On the way home I used up our vouchers for free water from Pama – another 72 litres! Sam has found a new yoga teacher who is to visit us every Monday evening, so I left them to it and went to the pub. For dinner we had stuffed peppers. After dinner I went for a power walk but the humidity is back so it was hard work.

Tuesday I made a “Home-style” tomato soup. That is, it was nice and simple with little more than a Mirapoix with tomatoes and a few herbs and seasoning. Sometimes the simplest dishes are just what are needed and I will put the recipe on my food blog. For dinner I roasted a chicken. I served it with a ragout of onions, garlic, bacon and broad beans, another must for the blog.

Wednesday we went to Naxxar for a wander and ended up, of course, at Palazzo Parisio. The gardens there are stunning this time of year; green marmalade oranges pumped up and fit to burst, birds of paradise lurking around every corner, great trumpet flowers hanging heavy as a bull’s scrotum and lizards skitting this way and that. But most of all bougainvillea spilling out from the walls, reds and pinks and purples, almost pressing upon us as we walk the paths. In places we duck to avoid its blossom. It is a place of particular peace, a place where you leave your troubles at the door and soak up the slow, the warm and the exotic that is the Mediterranean. You breathe in the almost intoxicating floral scents and embrace the silence and know that at this moment and at this place, all is well in the world.

This is the point where I need to tell you that I am currently reading F Scott Fitzgerald which explains my colourful prose. Although I have to say some of his prose is a little odd. I find the more I read the more I am frustrated by many modern authors whose prose is often lazy, and the more delight I take from the “classics”, although by my definition that does comprise a pretty eclectic mix. I wish I could work less and read more.

Anyway, we had superb cappuccini at the Palace. We drove on to Armier Bay where Sam swam for about 45 minutes. I sat at Mambo and read and sipped another cappuccino and ate a not very good cheese omelette. After her swim Sam had a bruschetta and we agreed, today was one of our very special, great days in Malta and happiness is our cherished companion. (Oh dear!)

For dinner I made a beef and mushroom casserole. Sam cooked puff pastry so we turned it into a pie and it was outstanding! It will definitely be going on my food blog.

Thursday we got back to normal! I shopped in our local market then went to Eatetna for a fantastic cappuccino. How is it that some places get that just right and others so wrong? For dinner we had left over beef and mushroom casserole with chips.

Friday brought the first storm of the autumn/winter. In fact, the seas were higher than we have seen since coming to Malta and by early evening two small boats had been capsized in the water just below us.

I made a fabulous lunch today but I have to admit it was way off the chart calorie wise. I cut the cores from some large, perfectly fresh tomatoes then skinned them and sliced them and layered them in an oven-proof dish, slightly overlapping them. I seasoned them with salt, pepper and a scant sprinkle of sugar. I put a few sprigs of fresh mint in a small saucepan, covered them with double cream, brought it to a boil and simmered it vigorously until well reduced. I removed the mint and poured the cream over the tomatoes. I covered the lot with a generous sprinkling of grated parmesan and baked it for about 25 minutes. It was DELICIOUS! I often say in my food blog that delicious dishes don’t have to be complicated and this is living proof. Wow!

Now here is a first. Late afternoon we went to a Tai Chi class. It was great. Do you remember a TV series called The Bionic Man (or was it The Six Million Dollar Man)? Whenever he ran or did anything energetic, everything was shown in slow motion. Well Tai Chi is a bit like that. Basically you do karate moves in slow motion. I felt like I was in Enter the Dragon at quarter speed. But by the end of it I felt stretched and relaxed and I will no doubt annoy Sam to distraction by saying, in my worst Chinese accent, “Ah Glasshopper” at every opportunity. But I won’t feel guilty because the whole thing was her idea.

For dinner we had pizzas after which I went to the shore to watch the waves exploding like a firework display.

Saturday we woke to find four boats capsized in the sea below us, including one large day boat. A rib was on its side and a sixth day boat had its Bimini ripped to shreds. The sea was angry with huge waves pounding the shore and promenade. I imagine many sea bass, bream and tuna will have made a bid for freedom from the fish farms across the bay. The roads and promenade were eerily quiet, save a few resolute tourists who will have a story to tell. Later another tender capsized and the rib was smashed into parts. A further day boat slipped its mooring and was carelessly tossed about the shallows. We subsequently heard this was Malta’s worst storm for 30 years.

I drove over to Golden Bay which was all but protected from the wind and had a cappuccino at The Apple’s Eye. A few hardy souls stood on the beach swathed in jeans and anoraks.

By the time I returned home Sam was up and about. We drove to Xemxija where the sea was boiling, a brown and dirty mess surging this way and that and made foul by the detritus of the battered fish farms. We drove on to watch the Malta to Gozo ferry which was disappointing as that stretch of water was relatively protected.

We went on to Armier Bay, thinking that a bruschetta and cappuccino at Mambo’s beckoned. But the sea was pounding the restaurant, reaching high up its walls, and its distraught owner told us that the restaurant was flooded and the adjacent beach had been washed away. Goodness knows how all that can be fixed. We opted instead to have bacon sandwiches at the Victoria Bar by the car park there. The room was iffy, the toilets were disgusting but the sandwiches were surprisingly good.

Chris and Tina called around in the evening. For dinner we went to Acqua Marina which was brilliant as always. We shared a big plate of mixed starters. For my main I had ravioli stuffed with ricotta and served in a beef and mushroom sauce. Sam had mixed fried fish, as did Tina. Chris had sea bass en papillote. And as usual there were the freebies; Aperol cocktails to start, mouth-watering bruschette, and limoncello and lemon sorbets.

After dinner we went to O’Reilly’s for a nightcap. On the way home we were overtaken by a guy racing a mobility scooter. He screeched to a halt, ran across the road and leapt up some steps into a handy bar. Only in Malta!

Sunday everything calmed down; the sea settled, the sky cleared, the cars and tourists reappeared and sheepish looking boat owners arrived to salvage their vessels. And boy, what a state those boats were in. In some cases in parts only, others mortally wounded and others as sorry as a guilty puppy. But the big news is that a shark appeared, not 20 metres offshore from us, 12 feet long at least. It circled a buoy for ages, and was clearly in distress and in the final throes of life. We could see it clearly from our vantage on high but those (mostly tourists) at promenade level couldn’t. That’s probably just as well if they plan to go swimming later this week! It reinforces my belief that sitting in a waterfront café sipping a cappuccino is far more sensible than swimming any day of the week.

For dinner we had spaghetti arrabbiata and for pudding I stopped off during my power walk for snickers and cherry ice creams which was a bit naughty!

Monday we woke up to the news that there had been another car bomb here, the third this year. This one, though, was only five blocks down the road from us! The victim, a local “businessman” was killed instantly. I went to a new shopping centre that has just opened and bought a man bag. For dinner we had hamburgers, which is unusual. But what is really unusual is that I made a plum clafoutis for pudding. It was quite nice – it tasted great – but it was a bit eggy.