Hypogeum and Tarxien Temples

We wake up early on Tuesday and have a nice breakfast in the

apartment, set up some of our sink washing to dry in the sun while we’re gone and head out to the bus stop because we don’t know exactly where we’re going in Paola for the hypogeum.  We get there in good time and have breakfast again there at a little café.  We see the main cathedral in Paola and Oscar even goes in

even though he said “no more churches”.  We get to the hypogeum and show them our tickets for our 11am tour and then I take Oscar to a toy shop in order to get him moving before he has to be still and quiet for an hour.  I take point on watching him throughout the tour which works well because John is super moved by this experience.  This Neolithic structure is an underground burial chamber and ritual area that is the best preserved example of architecture and 

 design by people who we don’t know where they went.  For me, it raised more questions than it answered.  For John, it brought on goosebumps and tears.  For Oscar, a kitkat bar when he got through the whole thing without any problems.  We watched an adult reach up and feel the ceiling because there was water on it, but my 5 year old knew better than to touch anything in the place.  The tour guide complimented him on how well behaved he was for the tour when

we came out and she said that most kids get scared in there.  He did amazing and from here, we walk to the Tarxien temples which is another ancient structure that is above ground this time.  Oscar plays tour guide throughout the site and tells us what we’re seeing, tells us that we can pay him to take pictures and that we can’t go forward yet or have to keep moving at times.  We get to see an amazing site while he plays around on the walkway moving people

through and no one is around us, so it’s perfect.  This place feels more special to me.  I was probably too worried about Oscar having any problems in the hypogeum to really enjoy it, but I can enjoy this temple complex.  The light blue bus line comes near here and we head out to Marsaxlokk which is known for being a cute fishing village with decorated boats.  It’s on the hop on hop off bus tour

 and Malta sight seeing tours, so I’m expecting even better than our little harbor that we’re staying on, but no.  It’s industrial and not nearly as pretty or cute as our little village.  And we’re having a “coastal event” in the weather forecast which means that wind is making everything wavy.  We head into a restaurant recommended to us and have a great lunch.  Every time we have a great meal we just sit there and smile, say how lucky we are and talk about what we’ve seen and are going to see.  Meals are great and then I blow it

    by trying to make a bus that goes straight back to our village that’s leaving in 16 minutes.  Well, getting the check and getting out of a restaurant in Europe is not a fast process, but they get us out of there in minutes and give John a free coffee to take with him and even though we are there before the bus should be, we see it turning the corner in front of us because it’s 5 minutes early.  We think that the bus driver has seen us because he’s pulling over not

far away, but it’s another bus stop that we can’t get to in time before he pulls away again because we’re running up hill.  After a wonderful meal, this is not the way to digest.  We catch the next bus and this means a transfer in Paola.  The first bus our way is so full the driver only lets two people on before leaving.  We get on the next bus that’s heading to our village no matter where it’s going in the village and are squeezed on at the front.  Finally, you can see how Malta is one of the most densely populated places on earth.