🇲🇹Good Riddance Malta, Ciao Sicily! 🇮🇹

Julia Sowaska
Jun 12
7 min read

Yeah, that might sound harsh, but I was so over Malta by the time I left! You'll see why below. And as promised, here is a post reviewing my overall impressions of Malta and my time in Sicily.

Malta Pros:

Beautiful in the spring

English-speaking

Awesome coastline/caves

The flowers were off the hook

Malta Cons:

Too many people and too much traffic

No wild places; hard to find solitude in nature

I didn’t find most people to be open & friendly, with a few notable exceptions

Very windy in the spring

Too hot and dry and dead in the summer

Expensive

Gross water

I've learned this pose is called the "Slavic Squat" and it lives in the blood of all slavic peoples, who can be randomly found in this pose in pictures.

Generally, I found my time in Malta to be…a strange liminal period where nothing really seemed to happen. It felt like a launching pad – not the actual launch and flight. All the wild synchronicities and fun things I thought would happen when I was traveling didn’t happen there, oddly enough. As soon as I left and stepped onto Sicily, the magic commenced.

In reflection, I think that Malta was meant to be a tempering place. I was still being alchemized into this new version of me after the very dramatic year of the snake. I needed time to land, rest, and finish solidifying within myself. It was a time of becoming more ME with no one else around as a distraction.

As a Montana girl, Malta was not for me. I met a few very nice people I developed great fondness for, but people were mostly in their devices. It was kind of like living in a big city where, because there are so many people everywhere all the time, you have to ignore everyone to be able to live your life and not deplete your energy. In NYC, you can’t say hello to everyone you pass on the street!

Malta is being loved to death. Similar to Montana, it’s experienced a crazy population boom in the past 20 years, not to mention a surge in tourism. I found myself avoiding seeing so many of the places I thought I would go see because it wasn’t worth the hassle of dealing with overcrowded buses, overcrowded sites, the traffic, etc. Mostly, I worked, walked along the seaside, and had a few adventures.

She was blown away by Malta...literally!

Most notably, my bestie from Seattle, Anna Joy, came to visit. We had a blast circumnavigating the island on foot! It was such a wonderful boost to have her there. Not having made too many real connections, it felt like a lonely place and she is my favorite little ray of sunshine in the whole world. 💖

With her departure, I quickly grew tired of Malta. I had planned to take a 5-day trip to Sicily, and as I looked at my options, it occurred to me, “Why not go for as long as I can?!” So I cleared an early departure with my landlord and rented a campervan in Sicily. I took the ferry and all my gear, arriving in time to have dinner at a restaurant. Immediately, I was struck by the huge difference that not having the language makes. I remember feeling very vulnerable in that moment and all of a sudden, I felt like I was having a real adventure.

The next morning, I hauled all my stuff by hand to the bus station, half a mile away. Upon arriving there, I anxiously asked questions of some English speakers about how I would know which bus to get on and a man overheard me and eager to help. I called him my Sicilian guardian angel – even though he was not a native. He answered all my questions and was showing me places on the island he thought I should go when a phone call came in on my WhatsApp from an Italian number. “That’s weird,” I thought. “No one in Italy should have my phone number yet…except for the bed and breakfast I stayed at last night…” and my heart sank as I realized I still had my room key in my pocket, with the bus about to arrive any minute.

The giant ferry from Valletta > Pazzollo.

The woman on the phone had no English and I implored my guardian angel to speak to her. Not only did he speak on my behalf, but immediately offered to take the key back to her. I was floored with gratitude by his generosity. He bundled me onto the bus, spoke to the bus driver so I could pay for my ticket, and off I went. He told me to call any time if I needed Italian and I kept in touch with him for the two weeks.

The fellow at the campervan place was just as nice and gave me a lot of complimentary perks you’re usually supposed to pay for. I was going to suffer through not having these conveniences for the sake of my budget, but was happy to accept his generosity as well.

My lovely but very beat up van. I don't necessarily recommend Indie Campers - there are a lot of hidden fees. Maybe all camper van companies are this way?

With a tour to the summit of Mt. Etna booked for the following morning, I hightailed it to the mountain and found a place to park for the night. I typically don’t hire guides, but it is illegal to go to the top without one, and I’m so glad I did. The guides at Buum were so knowledgeable and fabulous. We had a ton of fun and I befriended one of them who I dubbed my Sicilian anchor, because he was a native and so familiar with the whole island that I got many good recommendations on “Where can I find an awesome, quiet camp next?” And every few days, he would check in. It felt very nice to know someone was tracking me when I was thousands of miles away from anyone else who gave a shit and it helped me feel anchored.

First view of Mt. Etna, towering in the distance.

Free sauna if you lay down in certain spots on the mountain.

The fellow who taught me about the Slavic squat...looking through my Malta pictures and seeing myself in that pose before, I realized he was right!

Mt. Etna was so magical! I’ve never experienced anything like those microbiomes. Each side and elevation of the mountain had a different kind of environment. I absolutely fell in love with this 10k+ foot mountain rising from sea level. On my first real day alone, without an agenda, I wandered through the forests in awe. I would make it about 200 yards before I just wanted to sit, watch, and listen. After 30 minutes, I'd wander another few hundred yards, plop down, and repeat. After so much time on a completely urbanized island, being in the relatively untouched forests of Sicily was SUCH A RELIEF I could nearly weep. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed the wildlands, how much I truly NEED them to feel balanced and sane within myself. As I sat there for hours that day, I literally felt like a hard-used, depleted electronic device that had just been plugged in to recharge.

The stunning birch forests on the flanks of Mt. Etna.

Making friends everywhere on the island...though these particular folk weren't very chatty...

Lava tube. Plenty of caves on Sicily, too!

I subsequently spent some time at the beach, and eventually made my way to the only hot springs on the island, which was absolutely magical. In general, I’ve had very great experiences traveling alone as a woman. However, it’s amazing how much of a pallor the few creepy guys can throw over an experience. Where all of a sudden, instead of having fun, I’m asking myself, “Am I safe here? Do I need to move my van because now that creepy guy knows where it/I am?” It’s amazing to me that any man can just see a woman as an opportunity; an object to meet some need or desire he has, and not a person to get to know; having complete disregard for her needs, desires, or comfort level. Sadly, these are the realities of being a woman in the world we live in.

I made a lot of furry friends in Sicily.

Sicily was stunningly beautiful. She was riotous with flowers. It awakened something within me that had lain dormant for a long time…perhaps my whole life. I came alive there…the beauty, the sun, the smells, the volcano, the waters…they brought me to life in a way I could hardly contain. I found myself actively working with the pleasure of being alive there, training my body to be able to contain it, rather than feeling like I needed to project it onto someone or something else. It was exquisite, sensual ecstasy. The hot springs had a mud cave where people cover themselves in mud. You haven’t lived until you’ve smoothed hot, silky, steaming mud all over your body and let it dry on your skin. It’s the most amazing sensual experience I’ve ever had.