As we have the rest of this month and the whole of September here, I have the next few weeks to endeavour to paint a picture of the diverse places we visit both on land and by sea.

From our landing port Marsaxlokk, our first trip out was the bus to Lidl. Very weird experience, as the signs were in English and the staff twittered in English. Only the couple of freezers of traditional Maltese Fayre, gave the game away that I was not actually shopping in Lidl on Hayling Island and about to bump into a neighbour! There is a deep harbour wall and a couple of small sandy beaches in Marsaxlokk, from where the locals bathe, rather than tourist. They are far more sun savvy than us. They erect huge caravan sized awnings and canvas pagodas that the entire family , including gran, sit under. They hold BBQ's until the wee hours and it is not unusual to see toddlers and small children swimming at 11.30 pm with parents or older siblings.

Once we had filled our cupboards and bellies it was time to stretch my legs. Ricky had some boat jobs to do so I walked up over the hillside to St Paul's pool. Now this was a rock pool. A far cry from the tiny (all be they perfect) rock pools of Downderry that the children so loved on our many 'Smith Coleman' family holidays . This rock pool was dramatic with deep clear waters. The youngsters were diving from great heights, egging each other on, then applauding these first attempts along with the magnificent swallow dives of the confident. For an afternoon I was transported back to my youth, the buzz of young people hanging out around water, laughing, playing music and sneaking a kiss when they got a chance. The only reminder that I was actually 60, was when, instead of diving elegantly off the rocks into the water, I cautiously half walked, half crawled to the lowest point of the rock, shuffled on my bottom and with as much dignity that I could muster , down the slippery, slimey rock steps, clinging to the sides for dear life. In fact I'm not sure anyone there was over 35, but hey what an afternoon, in my minds eye - "I rocked!"