One of the most enchanting views from my hotel window was the thirty or so very colourful fishing boats which were moored on a wharf just below the hotel. When I say "view" I mean just that. They looked very pretty but they all appeared to have ghetto blasters which were played at top volume all day and for most of the night as well; perhaps this was a part of the EU celebrations.

You can judge the size of the boats from the cars parked along the wharf

Also part of the EU celebrations may have been the lighting on the wharf which stayed on all night, necessitating having to sleep with my curtains drawn and even then I think that I could probably have read a book, the light was so bright.

They stayed in the harbour during the week and all disappeared out to sea on Sunday mornings, returning on Monday afternoon after, presumably, unloading their catch at the Fish Market.

They were assisted in and out of their positions by a small dinghy with an outboard motor which acted as guide, tug and ferry to take the crews to shore after the boats were back in their berths. This was quite a complex operation as the boats were packed tightly together.

Packed in like sardines

Other regular visitors to Grand Harbour were the cruise boats which arrived at about 7.00am with their fog-horns sounding and which left about twelve hours later, again with their foghorns sounding. I am not sure exactly what the passengers did during their time ashore. Certainly there were organised tours around Valletta with the tour guides each carrying a different coloured umbrella, furled but held aloft so that their flock could see and follow them.

A friend of mine went on one of these Mediterranean cruises and told me that he and his fellow passengers were bussed out to the Popeye Village and left there for the day. He reported that it was one of the most boring days he has ever spent and I made sure to avoid the Popeye Village while I was in Malta.

In Dockyard Creek the yachts of the super-rich were moored. I didn't see any of them enter or leave and presumed that they were there for the duration.

This is one BIG boat