Tropical storm

by Emmy Nicolle (France)

Making a local connection Malta

It all started with a tropical storm on the tiny island of Gozo. I had to travel to La Valetta the day before for a job interview and decided to take advantage of it to visit the tiny island in the north of Malta, where the legend says Calypso once turned men into pigs. It was my first real solo travel experience and I was enjoying it until I decided not to take into account the weather that promised rain on a land where it almost never happened. Considering Gozo’s small size I decided I wasn’t going to relly on Malta’s unsure bus network but will instead go by foot to Saint Laurence, a tiny town known for it’s blue grotto. As expected, the rain started to pour as I was in the middle of the road and didn’t leave me, forcing me to stop every time I could find a shelter on my way, as it was only getting stronger. Finally, after more than one hour of walking I made it to Saint Laurence where I was able to admire the beauty of Neptune’s furious sea, beating high rocks that reminded me the land I was born on, far away from this tiny mediterranean island which usually only knew a sea as calm and as clear as it’s sky. I had never such a storm in the mediterranean sea before and couldn’t help but think about the imminent danger it meant for the immigrants who tried to reach Italy or Malta. After staying on the rocks at the entrance of Saint Laurence for quite a long time, I finally decided to move into the small village in search of the blue grotto but just after I found it the rain started to pour so strongly that it became urgent for me to move to the closest shelter. That’s where I met Stanley. He first approached me waiving his guide card as a way not to threaten me and kindly offered me to reach Rabbat ( the main town of Gozo) in his car as he still had a place. Of course, considering I could trust him due to his status and the fact that if I stayed in the rain anymore I would probably have been sick I said yes and followed him and the very nice american couple he was taking through his country. I can’t believe how lucky I was I met them, not only because they offered me a shelter from the rain, but also because Stanley learned me so many incredibles things about Malta in only a few hours. In fact, in a country as small as this one it is hard to find informations about the local culture and all I knew so far was from a local I met on couchsurfing. But while listening to Stanley you couldn’t doubt one second that he genuinely loved his job and that he was passionated about intercultural exchanges. As the rain didn’t stopped he let me stay with them for a couple of hours where he showed us cute small towns, the amazing cathedral of Ta’Pinu ( without forgetting to mention the controversies behind the high costs of it’s construction) and the biggest town of the island: Rabbat. In every place we went to he had not only important historical events to tell us about that happened here but also funny anecdotes that showed how knowledgable he was. We eventually took the ferry to go back to the main island, ate a nice Halwa al Tork ( a typical maltese sweet ) all together and he even drove me to my final destination in St Julian. As a first time solo traveler, meeting Stanley and this super nice couple ( sadly I forgot their names) definitely inspired me to renew this experience because it showed me that when you’re alone even though it’s true that people can take advantage of your vulnerability, other people will immediately feel the need to help you which makes it an incredible opportunity to meet a ton of people and learn a ton of new things. Anyway, as a conclusion I would say if you’re searching for a guide or want to attend an erasmus part in Malta I highly recommend contacting Stanley Cassar Daniens!