MELLIEHA (Day 12)

We took a bus to the coastal city Mellieha at far end of the island. The cities were starting to return to normal as slowly but surely the holiday decorations were taken down. We visited both a church and chapel in honor of Mary. While the church was nice and large, it was the small chapel which was more important. Originally carved into the cliff, it is the oldest Marian sanctuary on the island of Malta. A small altar at the head of the church still had its cave stone walls and was painted with a very old fresco.

Hallways were lined with items given in thanks for miraculous healings. Back in 1990, Pope John Paul II visited this chapel, so the caves further in the back were set up as permanent exhibit of his visit.

We crossed the street and went down a flight of old stairs into another cave known as Maria's Grotto. This was a deep, dank cave with water dripping from the ceiling and only a few candles. A statue of Maria stood in a pool of dark water, water that was said to heal children. The walls of the tiny cave were cluttered with countless thank you notes from parents.

We walked briefly along the marbled blue and turquoise bay, then headed inland with the purpose of walking across the entire island... it was very narrow at this spot.

After a mere 30 minutes, we reached Anchor Bay, home to Popeye Village. We walked along the tops of the cliffs then down to a pier below. The emerald color of the water was simply breathtaking. The village, nestled into a large cliff at the end of the bay, was built for the sole purpose as a movie set for the film Popeye.

We decided to walk different way back and ended up climbing a steep hill through farmers' fields. The little path was highly unpredicatable but the view of the entire island from the top of the hill was very rewarding.

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