Carnival in Malta & Gozo

Last weekend, we were privileged to a very special treat at the hands of Maltese professors Louis and Liz. On Sunday Al and I, along with classmates John, Dee, Erin, Whitney and Tim's daughter Nika, headed to the northern island of Gozo at Liz and Louis's invite to experience Carnival. After picking us up from the ferry, we dropped our bags at Liz's place then headed to Louis's Gozitan home, a 300+ year old house that he spent 5 years restoring. His amazing house and the contents within are exactly what you would expect if you know him. He's like a real life, wildlife version of Indiana Jones. At one point he'll explain the differences in comfort levels between camel saddles in Egypt, Tunisia and Morocco, then interrupt his conversation/lecture to take a call from the Prime Minister's office to be informed of his latest accolade.

Whitney leaving the kitchen, for the foyer

The "Sahara." Most Maltese homes have names.

Welcome to the gun show. Louis & John

Upstairs in the study/museum

After enjoying one of the finest days of the year on the roof and having been plied with food, wine and Cuban cigars, we took a  short trip to Ramla Bay just in time for some lovely late-afternoon  sun. It really was the sunniest, warmest and least windy day in months, and we couldn't have asked for more.

 

By this time we were all feeling quite spoiled, but things were just beginning. After all, we were here for Carnival and after a bit of pre-gaming and dinner, we finally made our way to the town of Nadur for the festivities. Beyond Mardi Gras and the Rio de Janiero celebrations, Carnival is a pretty foreign concept to most Americans. (Cue the historical aside...) Carnival derives its name from the Catholic tradition of consuming all of the meat ("carne" in Latin), other rich foods and drink before Lent begins. I guess they need to get rid of all of the good stuff, for as we know combining large amounts of booze and meat generally leads to a pretty sweet party.

The sole condition of our invite to Carnival was that we all had to dress up. I decided to represent my Americanness by going as a cowboy, mainly because it gave me an excuse to shave a mustache. Allison dazzled everyone with mask and Northface jacket (it was cold to be fair, but I think her beer blanket was warm enough). When we got there at 10:30 p.m. (on Sunday, mind you) things were in full swing, with folks in consumes ranging from creepy, to slutty (lots of drag going on) to impressively intricate. One kid was walking around with a severed goat head hanging from a stick. Yum! To my untrained eye there wasn't much happening beyond party people walking, dancing and sitting around amongst floats, with music spilling out from the bars and stages, but who knows what kind of cultural nuances I missed out on. Either way, it's nice to see so many people engaging in care-free fun.

A bit of danger came late at night, when this clown came looking for trouble. As women and children fled from the streets, a tumbleweed blew past... It was either gonna be him or me.

Show down at the Nadur Corral (photo by Erin Reilly)

Well, that clown didn't know what he had coming.

Clown - 0, Cowboy - 1 (photo by Erin Reilly)

The next morning was a bit rough as we had to be up at 7:00 so everyone (sans Nika and I) could get to class. The ferry ride across is always a pleasant experience, and Liz and Louis extended their gracious ways by driving everyone to school, instead of leaving us to the dreaded public bus.

Gozo ferry harbor, from the boat

Fisherman between Gozo (background) and Malta

It was really a wonderfully authentic Maltese experience, which is something all of us agreed we don't get enough of here. Thanks to Erin for letting me use her great camera, which netted me some of these shots as well as the shootout between John and I that she captured. I've got a sweet new camera on the way and am really looking forward to stepping up my photographer game. As always, thanks for reading!


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