Stormy Malta

The weather in Malta this winter has been the worst since 1920. Normally, by now, we could expect balmy days with temperatures between 15 and 20 Centigrade. Not this year. The temperature has hovered stubbornly at around 13 Centigrade, and the wind has been brisk. Nevertheless, we have had little rain and it has been reasonably pleasant. Until today.

The morning dawned grey and overcast, with a strong wind. As the ‘tour guide’, I amended plans accordingly to ensure that we could be in places where there were indoor things to do. Accordingly, we went to the Three Cities and, when the rain threatened, we visited the Inquisitor’s Palace. Emerging some ninety minutes later, the sky had cleared and we were able to sit outside in the square and have coffee.

The break, however, did not last, and as the afternoon progressed the clouds grew more threatening and the wind ever stronger. We went up to Mdina to visit a friend as the storm clouds gathered overhead. By the time we headed back to the hotel the car was hard to control on the exposed roads. The true strength of the wind only became clear, however, when we parked and tried to unload the boot. The wind almost took the lid off and one of us had to hang on to it while the other grabbed our belongings – the hinges just were not strong enough.

As I write this, it is 10.30 at night. The wind is a howling gale and the sea is roiling into St. George’s Bay as I have never seen it before. The rocks where I normally sunbathe are totally submerged and the sea is threatening to breach the next level up. The wind is so strong that, as we walked up from dinner at the wonderful grill, I was almost blown over. We had to fight the door into the hotel open.

It is a magnificent sight; it is elemental and overpowering. But my heart goes out to anybody caught at sea this night. And I am very glad we did not go to Gozo, as originally planned. I cannot imagine trying to return on the Ferry in this.