Fifth Journey Day 172: Where the Stone Learned to Float

Date: October 27, 2025
Location: Valletta, Malta

Walking the UNESCO-listed city of Valletta in Malta, I followed bastions and harbors shaped by centuries of maritime life. Golden Globigerina limestone, the roll of the Mediterranean, and the music of Maltese and English together framed an evening where light and silence did most of the speaking.

Fortifications at Golden Hour

Today unfolded in layers of gold. I walked along the fortifications just before sunset. The light was so bright that everything was covered in light. The stone under my hand was still warm from the afternoon. When I pressed my palm to it, it seemed to hum faintly — as if remembering the warmth. The city feels like it was made from one piece of material, with its streets and walls all connected.

Language in the Air, Sea Like Polished Metal

I didn't talk to anyone for hours. The language here was a mix of English and something older and softer, and I could barely understand it. I felt the sound inside and outside of me. The sea appeared like polished metal, showing more sky than water. From up high, the ferries looked like pieces of paper being carried somewhere.

Choosing Stillness Over Sketching

At one point, I sat on a low wall with my sketchbook closed. There was no need to draw; everything already existed in a kind of still composition — a line of pigeons on a roof, a man wiping down a metal railing, the faint sound of cups from a café on a patio. I watched the color of the walls change from gold to ash to blue-grey, but it was almost impossible to notice.

Breath Inside Stone

I'm learning that stillness can also be motion — that a place can move within itself, like breath in stone. Valletta feels old, but not tired. It listens more than it speaks. I hope to learn something from that — how to hold brightness without spilling it.

Night Window, Salt in the Room

Tonight, the air smells a little like salt and diesel. I left the window open so the sea could come in.

Travel Notes

• Weather: Warm and luminous, 23°C; steady light wind; air edged with sea salt and a faint thread of jasmine.
• Scents: Sun-warmed limestone, sea spray, dusk jasmine; later, a low note of harbor diesel drifting through the streets.
• Sounds: Soft overlap of Maltese and English, cups from a café patio, distant ferry engines, pigeons settling on roofs.
• Reflection: Stillness can be motion; tonight I practiced holding brightness without spilling it.

Continue the Journey

You may also enjoy reading about yesterday’s quiet reflections or another moment from this same island country, where stone and sea keep the conversation gentle.