First Day in Malta!

Last night/this morning at 1am, after 28 hours, 4 airports, and 3 flights, we finally arrived in Malta! All of us, our luggage, our robots, and our equipment made it all 6,742 miles safe and sound!

Our Air Malta jet on the runway at the Malta International Airport

We're staying in some apartments in Sliema that are maintained by the am Language Studio. Despite our lack of sleep, some of us were anxious to explore the island, and woke up around 7am this morning to do just that! We walked out to the promenade and strolled the oceanside.

Early morning view of the Sliema coastline

We started heading South, towards the capital city of Valetta, and stopped at a cafe on the promenade for some coffee, sandwiches, and donuts. We then turned back North, and walked the length of the promenade throughout Sliema. On the way, we passed one of the old watchtowers built by the Knights of St. John built in 1658.

Watchtower from 1658 on Sliema Promenade

As we continued North along the promenade, we eventually entered St. Julian's Bay, and discovered an interesting fountain, with an artistic stone globe, and a quote from a Native American proverb, which was surprising to find so far away from home! The quote read, "We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children."

St. Julian's Bay

The proverb was particularly poignant considering the theme of many of our cultural research projects regarding water conservation and natural resource management.

So far, I think I speak for the whole Cal Poly team when I say that we are greatly enjoying our stay in Malta, looking forward to further exploring the islands, and eager to map some cisterns tomorrow!