“The real voyage of discovery consists, not in seeking new landscapes, but having new eyes” – Marcel Proust
During the past nine years, I spent most of my weekends, vacation leave, and holidays visiting remote places around Malta to capture Long exposure images. I was of the impression that I had visited the entire coast, both in Malta and in Gozo (which is the smaller sister island). Last year, while most of the world was in partial or total lockdown, and traveling was close to impossible, I had the opportunity to rediscover my own country and revisit most of the places I have previously been to. With more time on my hand, I managed to discover different locations which usually I took for granted.
Malta is 316 km2 (122 sq. mi) and one can travel from one end to another in less than an hour by car. One can imagine how small the island is, when asked, I usually say that Malta is smaller than the smallest town anywhere in the world.
Last year I planned the locations to visit depending on the weather, keeping in mind the direction of the wind and the movement of the clouds. I cannot complain since most of the days I was rewarded with painterly skies.
Most of the locations can be reached by long walks, sometimes in very remote areas where only a few Maltese knows about. One of my favorite treks is reaching “Blata tal-Melh” (White Rock) which is a historic landmark in Rabat/Bahrija area. From the parking area to the location, it is approximately 2km. Along the trail of “Rdum tal-Vigarju” one comes across giant boulders laying on the edge of the cliff, these resemble Giant sentinels; I always wonder how they ended there as there seem to be no land above from where they should have been detached. One of the boulders along the path is called “Iz-Zugraga” (Spinning Top) because of its quirky look, I feel so small in comparison to the boulders in this area. Reaching this location is quite challenging for some but I take the opportunity to relax and take some food and drink and stop for some time to admire the views and take a break.
Sometimes one might come across hunters, trappers, or landlords who claim their ownership of the pathways laying on public land. Since 2016 the Maltese law states that all the surrounding coast has become public domain and if any private land lays in between, the landlords must grant access to the coast by a pathway.
During a recent visit to a location called Ras ir-Raheb, I was confronted by a person claiming to be an employee of Malta Heritage (Maltese National Agency for Cultural Heritage), he asked me to leave because according to him I was trespassing private land. I hate bullies and I asked for identification while I supplied my ID and a visiting card, he obviously had no official tags and that made both of us trespassers. Unfortunately, I often come across these types of people who try to bully ramblers, I try to not get into conflict with anyone, but certainly, I will not let anyone get in the way while I am doing my photography.
So last year was not about looking for other countries to explore and shoot, but it was about appreciating what I had available in my own backyard. I think sometimes I underestimate my own country, and I look to venture into foreign lands. This year helped me to reconnect with some of the places I have already visited in the past and I rediscovered my Malta, I am looking at the native landscape having new eyes.