Wednesday 31 August 2011

THE END

Pozzallo – Malta  (mostly by boat)

Well, the ferry did leave at 0930 and we were in good time. There were a few moments of nervousness when the ticket office was still closed at 0745. But this was Sicily! Our tickets were purchased and now we had to wait for the ferry to arrive. During this interval, we had a long conversation with an Italian, who spoke only Italian, about the virtues of some parts of Italy and Sicily and a conversation in English with a gentleman who had secured a job in Malta and was with his family in two cars. We learned, in detail, of the various mishaps which had befallen them on the way from Cowbridge. We wonder now if those continued on his arrival in Malta! I will explain.
We thought we had travelled some pretty hairy roads, but our introduction to Malta was as scary as it was unexpected. We had planned to avoid the major peripherique but it seemed we were left with little choice. Unsympathetic traffic, driving on the left, tunnels and hills all conspired to leave us pretty tense and drained on our eventual arrival at our hotel. Now, we had been extravagant in our choice of final hotel as a prize for completing our journey, so we were somewhat taken aback by our reception; an irate man in a suit waving his arms energetically and shouting that we could not leave our bikes there. At this point Mr. Angry lost it, marched into the foyer, confronted the management and succinctly explained that after more than 6500 kms and numerous stops at everything from campsites to posh hotels, this had been an unforgettable welcome for all the wrong reasons. Much boot licking and apologies followed but the damage had been done. A shame but it is still a very nice hotel!
So we end our adventure after 100 days of cycling and I will miss talking to you all. It has been a comfort to know that we have not been alone. So here is to the next time?!!!!!!

6 comments:

  1. Ahh... very mixed emotions this end; super proud of you, relieved you're still in one piece (each!), sad that we won't have your updates to look forward to and looking forward to seeing you on your return!

    Enjoy a well earned break, hope the boot licking continues, they should read your blog and see what hopitality and kindness they should be living up to!!

    Lots of Love always
    the Mizens
    -x-

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  2. Congratulations! what a FANTASTIC achievement! We hope your exploits inspire others to try something different and challenging. You inspired us as leaders in the work place, now you continue to do so in retirement. You are a great example of the quote "growing old is mandatory, growing up is optional." Look forward to seeing you in a few weeks (and getting rid of what's left of your car!)
    Much love and hugs
    Anne and Dean xxx

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  3. A fantastic achievement you old wrinklies - can't believe that you didn't get (properly) lost/hospitalised/divorced along the way!! Pole to pole next year then?! X

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  4. WELL DONE, WELL DONE!!!

    What an amazing achievement.

    Congratulations and much love,
    Ann & Judd

    P.S. You are still loopy, though.

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  5. Mad but brilliant!! Never could live up to my big sister! See you in a couple of days in sunny Malta.

    Lots of love - Wendy x

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  6. Congratulations on a fantastic trip, I've enjoyed reading your blog, but not been tempted to emulate your feat!! See you soon in Marval.

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