Wafted to Paradise ... or not?

It was good to be a bear on Malta as we had more travelling options than our minders. This was because we were able to avail ourselves of bicycles, left in convenient places all over the island.


There was plenty of room for all 4 of us to clamber aboard. As our legs are shorter than our minders', it provided a good way to keep up with them.

Most of the cycling was fairly sedate as Malta isn't too mountainous an island. However, there were a few dramatic moments. We particularly enjoyed cycling out to this headland, joined to the main cliffs by a narrow isthmus. There were big drops on each side so we had to make sure to concentrate, and not be distracted by the scenery.


We saw a lot of Malta's northern coast on our walks. Before we left home, various people had told us that the beaches weren't that good, but we were pleasantly surprised. There were some real gems on the west coast, including Golden Bay and the beaches close to it.

One beach that we weren't so sure about, was the one that sounded from its name, as if it should have been the best. This was the beach called Paradise Bay at the north west tip of the island. We sat at the top of the steps down to the beach and wondered whether it was worth going down or not, as it didn't seem to match with our idea of paradise. What do our readers think?


Perhaps it was just the rather grey day, or maybe it was the proximity to the ferry port, but we decided not to take a closer look, but to continue with our headland walk and see what else this stretch of coast had to offer. We were quite amused by the huge circular car park, not far from where we were sitting. There were hundreds of free parking spaces but only one or two were taken. It was January though, so hardly high season. Perhaps there would be a bit of a beach makeover before the summer season started.

Lots of love, the Malteser bears xxx

Gozo Day Out

We're back in Malta today, in spirit, if not in body, to tell you about our wonderful day out on Gozo.

Malta might be a small island, but Gozo is smaller, although not as small as Comino which sits almost between the 2. A visit to Gozo is a must for any visitors to Malta, and we were keen to see it and experience its rustic charms. Even though it was still winter, the 2 ferries were running round the clock. They are so regular that you don't need a timetable, you just turn up and catch the next one. And the great thing is that you don't need a ticket, or have to pay, until you come home. We had a strange (to us) feeling of naughtiness, strolling on board without a ticket, but that is what you have to do.


As you can see from our picture, it was a lovely sunny day for our trip, so we sat out on deck and enjoyed the sunshine and the sea views. We had had a small moment of worry earlier, when we had set sail while the bow door was still being closed! but there didn't seem to be no danger of the sea coming in, so by the time our picture was taken, we were completely chilled out.

On our journey we passed Comino, but that was as close as we would be going on this holiday, as it was too soon for the small day trip ferries to be running.

Once disembarked on Gozo we set off on a coast walk straight from the ferry terminal. The harbour was quickly left behind, as everything on Gozo is on a small scale, and in just a couple of minutes we were out in lovely countryside, walking with the sea on our left. A few minutes more and the path took us down to a very pleasant beach where we could paddle (the water was a bit cold for swimming) then sit in the sun to dry off our paws and munch on a sandwich, while watching the 2 ferries (the white blobs) plying their way between the islands


As with our 2 previous coastal walks, it was an interesting coastline, with lots to see. We passed a beach where 3 large vessels, one a former ferry, had been scuttled to provide some interesting dive sights. They were just a bit too far offshore or us to see them.

There was an idyllic inlet (the Port of the Galleys), which suddenly became less idyllic when we learnt its history. It had been the place where a party, led by a Turkish raider, had landed in 1551, and carried most of the island's inhabitants off into slavery. Just before the inlet was a 17th century tower built by the Knights of St John; there is certainly no shortage of history on Gozo.

We also liked these amazing salt pans carved into the rock ...


It was good to be a bear rather than a human here, as were just the right size to scamper along the retaining walls and get a really good close up look.

The coastal part of our walk ended with 400 foot cliffs - we took care not to get too close. We then turned inland to walk through the small town of Sannant then on, just over another mile, to the town of Victoria, the capital of Gozo. We had a quick look round the citadel, but it was getting dark, so it wasn't long before we headed for the bus station to catch a bus to the harbour and our ferry back to Malta. Here there were tickets booths, so we finally got to buy our return tickets. We thought that just over €4.5 for a return was a very reasonable price to pay.

Sadly our holiday wasn't long enough for another visit to Gozo, but we hope to return one day, and we will certainly be recommending it in the Friendly Planet Guide.

Lots of love, the Malteser Bears xxx

Britain's Favourite Conversation Topic ... again

We hope all our readers having been faring well during the recent icy blast.

One B.U. member who enjoyed last weekend's snow more than most, was Polar from the Midlands branch, who is spending the winter with us.


Polar has adapted well to life off the ice, but when the white stuff falls, and especially when it turns icy, his polar bear genes come to the fore and he is literally in his element.


Along with his hardy friend Russ, he went out last Sunday afternoon to search out some pristine patches of snow to play in and mark with his paw print. The plastic bag his was wearing was not to keep him dry, his fur does that for him, but to give him extra slip when he went body sledging.

Polar played so hard that he got tired and decided to hitch a lift home. Here is is giving his paws up of approval to the snow.


We've all been looking after our feathered friends this week and making sure the bird feeders are well stocked. Our efforts have paid off and Chelmer and Curly were thrilled to sight some more unusual visitors, making their first appearance in our garden yesterday. They sat at the kitchen window with the bird book and binoculars watching ...


... a pair of blackcaps and at least one redpoll. Both species seem to be residing locally, as they're with us, feeding, for several hours each day. It gives us all a special feeling to know we are helping such lovely birds.

But the all important question remains, will today's thaw continue, to allow racing at Fakenham on Friday? We very much hope so.

Lots of love, all at Bears Unlimited xxx

P.S. back to Malta next time!

The Taste of Malta

Well the Malteser Bears are all safely home now; we returned bearing gifts for our friends who stayed behind to keep the wheels of commerce turning, and what could be a more appropriate gift to return with, than a big bag of Maltesers?

We decided to take pictures at the airport so we could prove that our Maltesers did come from Malta and not from England (although we wouldn't like to speculate on how well travelled they are).


What better chap could we have in our airport photo, than a genuine knight of St John featuring the Maltese cross on his costume. As you can see his hat made a great place for us to rest with our Maltesers.

We knew that Playmobil fan, Fred's Mum of the Suffolk branch, would like this picture, but we think that when she sees our next picture, of us with our second airport friend, she may like it even more ...


... and this is because that pirate face reminds us very much of someone who is very close to Fred's Mum's heart - must surely be a relative? What you think Aunty M?

Before setting out for the airport, we had a pretty full day in Malta and finally got to take a look at Valletta, which will be the subject of a future post. The downside of gaining an extra day, was that we touched down at Gatwick at 10.00 p.m. and got a real shock to find the outside temperature close to zero. The Bearmobile performed well and got us back to the Bear Cave as fast as possible, but it was still 2.15 a.m. when we arrived and we were all too cold to get much sleep that night.

As the cold week has progressed, we are finding it hard to believe that only a few days ago we were enjoying being bears in the sun ...


... this was us on enjoying the sun terrace at the top of our accommodation which was a great place to catch a few rays. Of course, we didn't spend too much time time here as there was so much exploring to do and so little time. We've plenty more posts from Malta in the pipeline so keep watching the blog.

Lots of love, the Maltese returners xxx

Visiting Popeye's Home

We hope you haven’t kept you in suspense readers, but we’ve been too busy enjoying Malta and relaxing in the evenings, to blog.

Rest assured though, we are having a good time, and finding plenty to do on this interesting island. It might be a small island, but by the time we go home, there will still be bits we haven’t seen. We haven’t even seen Valetta yet!

We are getting old hands at riding the buses now and we love their registrations …


… as you can see they all start with the letters BUS followed by their unique bus numbers. A lot of the buses are bendy buses which means they can get a lot of people in. The streets are quite narrow so there have been a few exciting squeezes. Arriva have only just taken over the service but some of the buses are not looking as new as they should!

We have done 3 more coastal walks since our last post and 1 inland one. We simply love to see the sea and when there are sandy bays and dramatic rocky headlands and high cliffs to take in, it becomes all the more exciting. It is rather different to the coastline round home.

We had a special treat on Thursday when our walk took in the filmset of Popeye. A whole village was created round a small harbour mouth and we got to see it without having to pay the entrance fee.


We’ve never seen the film, but might have to track it down when we get home.

All our walking means we need some suitable fuel to sustain us. Our ham sandwiches have been supplemented by some delicious mini pies from a pastizzeria we pass on the way to the bus station.

Here we are enjoying the pea and cheese varieties.


Back with more news soon, but perhaps not too soon as we’ll be making the most of our last evening tomorrow and the evening after we’ll be flying home.

Lots of love, the Malteser Bears xxx

P.S. we hope the Suffolk Branch have had a good trip to York

Shipwreck Island

We got off the bus to do a bit of sightseeing in the town of Mellieha. We admired the big church which reminded us a bit of Santiago in its grand Catholic style, and we popped down to see a grotto, dedicated to our lady of Mellieha, before walking down to the bay to start a fine coastal walk round a rugged headland with lots of bays and interesting features.

Once we had left the holiday homes behind, it was a complete contrast to the built up areas we had passed through earlier on the bus. It was wild and unspoilt. The sun was out, the sky was blue and the sea was that lovely turquoisey-green, that you just don’t get at home. However, we did have to put our windshirts on as there was a keen breeze. Our meandering path hugged the coastline had lots of ups and downs and lots of interesting things to see.

There were delightful clumps of narcissus that filled the air with their fragrance …


… there were wonderful views and lovely spots for a picnic and spot of sunbathing …


At times we were walking on mud paths; mostly they were dry but there was evidence that Malta has had some winter rain.

About two-thirds of the way round, we found ourselves looking across a narrow stretch of water to 2 very special islands. These were St Paul’s islands, where Paul was shipwrecked in AD60 on his way to stand trial in Rome. You can read all about Paul’s time on Malta in Acts 28 v1-10, or you can simply share our close up view of the larger of the 2 islands, complete with statue of St Paul.


As our walk continued there was still more to see including old look out towers, a nicely proportioned door cut into a huge boulder so you can go inside and some fine examples of salt pans. We also saw a man with a gun, so sounded the alarm to the local birds, who were present, as Malta does have a bit of a reputation.

Getting the bus back was a breeze and we were soon back in Bugibba calling in at the local supermarket for beer, wine and ingredients for a paella for tea.

What a splendid first day.

Lots of love, the Malteser bears xxx

P.S. Aunty M, we're chocolate free so far but on the look out for some little round balls

Sun, Sea and Occasional Sand

Yesterday, our latest travelling party of Chelmer, Curly, Yorkie and me (George,) was up bright and early to make our way to Gatwick Airport where we had a happy re-union with our friend Rodney, the Harrods door bear. We introduced Chelmer and Curly as they don’t do as much travelling as Yorkie and I, so hadn’t previously had the pleasure of Rodney’s acquaintance.


As we walked out to the departure gate, we could see the rain lashing down outside and knew that it was an icy rain. We were very pleased to be flying out to a much warmer place.

At one point our very informative captain told us that we were about to fly over the Italian island where the cruise liner recently capsized. We couldn’t see it because of the clouds, and probably our altitude as well. Shortly after flying over Sicily, we started our descent into the lovely Mediterranean island of Malta, our destination for the week.

From the airport we were minibussed off to our self-catering apartment in the resort of Buggiba, whose name we quickly learnt, is not pronounced as if it starts with the word bug. It was dark as we travelled, so we didn’t see much apart from lots of lights.

We’ll no doubt talk more about our home from home later in the week. We didn’t spend too long inside before we went out in search of food and beer (us bears have our priorities). We are about 1 minute from the sea, so we strolled along the front, battling against the wind! As it is only January, lots of places were shut, but we found a pleasant Italian restaurant and got stuck into the local Cisk beer and enormous pizzas laden with loads of lovely toppings, at a very reasonable price too.


This morning we treated ourselves to a full English breakfast in the breakfast room, again very reasonable at €4 for everything. We then saw our rep briefly before heading to the bus station to buy a weekly ticket and hop on a bus for our first island adventure. Sadly the characterful Maltese buses have just been replaced and Arriva have taken over, and are operating all of the island’s services with modern buses. This is a little problematical as all the walks in our walk book tell you which of the old buses to catch and the new ones are different. The changes are all so recent that no timetables or route maps are available, so we will have to be ingenious. Fortunately everyone speaks English and seems to want to help, so it is easy to ask.

Find out where we went next time.

Lots of love the Malteser Bears xxx