Malta – 9 Feb. 2009

The 24-hour delay of the ferry allows us to add one more country to our list.
This island is strategically very important for military purposes. Located between Africa and Italy, both English and Italian are spoken here. Its history dates back 7000-years! It seems everyone has been here! Phoenicians, Romans, Arabs. The Knights of Malta heroically defended this land against Turks who never fulfilled their quest. Between 18th of May and 11th of September 1565 there were some 250 ships and 48,000 Turks against only 6,100. The knights, fighting alongside the Maltese, were victorious in this is now legendary resistance.

Also, for centuries, the Normans from Sicily and Italians lived here. Then the French arrived and finally the English who remained for about 150-years until 1964. A place brimming with architecture, history and tradition. Well worth looking in to, with time… next time.
Right now, we allow ourselves a pleasant exploration of the cuisine, with the lovely Enrica Perego and her mother. Enrica is a very important person within the Italian world of motocross. Many times a champion in Italy, she has been organizing bike adventure journeys for some time now out in the main deserts of Africa and she’s always searching for interesting European and Italian areas to explore, on her bike of course.
Her website: www.sudestraid.com