Sunday, 1st April 2007

Ta' Qassis, with Paradise Bay Hotel in the background

A group of thirty ramblers turned up for today?s walk, in glorious weather typical of the Maltese spring. The group included one of our foreign members, a Scottish lady on holiday in Malta, who was one of the first to reserve a place on this restricted walk.

Boathouses

Our meeting place today was the Paradise Bay car park, from where we walked down to the bay itself. Once at the bay, we set off along a clearly-marked footpath until we rounded the small headland at the southern side of the bay. From here on we followed the coast, approximately southwest, picking a path through the boulder scree beneath the cliff face. The first part of the walk was relatively easy, in an area marked on the map as Ta' Qassis (I wonder who this priest was). Here there is a cluster of well-sheltered "boathouses", built in a very small picturesque bay, with a natural slipway and a distinguishing rock window. There is definitely no road to this bay, so the material for these rooms must have been brought in, appropriately enough, by boat. One wonders if they have a MEPA permit, or title to the land.

Rock window

From this bay we had to go through Rdum il-Qawwi. This part of the walk justified the rating, in the walk programme of "Very rough terrain, not for the faint-hearted". Unfortunately there are still people who do not heed these warnings.

Once through this part, it was again an easier walk to the flat, picturesque rock beach at il-Ponta tal-Qammieh, where the group stopped for a well-deserved rest, catching their breath after scrambling through the boulders of Rdum il-Qawwi.

Rock Beach at il-Ponta tal-Qammieh

From the rock beach we scrambled back up the slope, picking the trail to the top of the cliff face, passing through some cultivated land on the way. At the top of the cliff it was an easy walk on the garigue back to the car park, in time for Sunday lunch. The distance covered was only about 5 km, but a lot of it was through rough terrain, as rated on the walks programme. This walk was a satisfying experience for the group, most of whom had never been in this part of Malta.