I am on my way to Malta. The ferry is full of tourists, the sea of sails and the air of seagulls.

Yes, seagulls. How nice.

8:30PM local time, wherever you live on planet earth. tonight Saturday 28 March 2009

Switch off all lights, cut off your cables and rest your mind in the complete darkness.

Watch the stars, sleep, make love or simply  go for a walk.

To know more check the Earth Hour website.

Throughout the centuries Malta & Gozo have been invaded or colonised by a little bit everyone that has decided to roam the Mediterranean: Phoenicians, Greeks, Romans, Arabs, Normans, Sicilians, Turks, Spaniards, French, British and Tourists.

Sadly Vikings had never set foot on the islands.

To set the record straight, a German Film crew had decided to set the movie “Wikie und die starken Männer” ( litterally Vicky and the strong men) which will be released internationally with the title “Vicky the Viking”.

Most of us have probably never heard of the director Michael Herbig, but ask any German and they will tell you that Bully ( that’s the nickname that every German knows him with), is a big Star.

So, if you see any heavily bearded man cycling peacefully around the island, or if you notice some slight alteration to the tower of Dwejra, or if you spot a Viking boat on the way to Fungus Rock, just don’t worry, it’s just the Vikings.

To know more about the movie check it on the internet movie database.

I didn’t have a chance to test it yet, but Gozo has a new, experimental service, the “Gozo Discovery Bus“. A free bus service that connects most of the island’s attractions and allows you to hop on an off at any stop.

Who knows, maybe we are on the way of  a free, circular, bus service. Wouldn’t that be great?

A friend sent me the schedule, so I am publishing it here. ( click on it to see it full size)

Dwejra, Friday 7:30 pm.

“Bring your arms up, close to your ears and slowly move in the Proud Warrior position.” Erinbelle’s voice is nice and soothing. I bring up my arms and try to keep balanced on my aligned legs.

The sun is slowly setting over the neat line of the horizon as a group of clouds condenses in a far away corner of the sky. It is a beautiful and relaxing experience. (Yet if I catch the mosquito that has been puncturing my neck, I am ready for war!)

With me there is about 12 people, foreigners as well as locals. Some of them that can flex themselves like rubber bands others that are as marble-stiff as me. It doesn’t matter thought, cause it’s no competition, we are all doing it for ourselves.

I go to know about this Yoga appointment through a friend. Then, looking on the internet I found a blog post about it. It looked nice and, though I never practised yoga, I decided to try it out.

“Now look at the sunset and relax!”.

When ten days ago I attended the forum that proposed Gozo as ecological island, I discovered that the idea of Gozo as an ecosite had already been put forward 5 or 6 years ago.

A study was commissioned to Terence Calnan who presented a research based on other ecosites already existing in other parts of Europe.

I asked Mr. Calnan if it was possible to view the papers he had submitted 5 years ago and I proposed to make them available for download on this site. He agreed and here they are.

Eco Sites Agenda for 2003

Ecosites as field tools for implementing sustainable development in ERA (the European Research Area)

Ecosite Showcase - ECOSITE du Pays de Thau - by Terence Calnan

an Ecosite for Malta Ghajn Tuffieha Region - by Terence Calnan

Malta Ecosite – Questions, Answers & Actions at 6 June 2003 Workshop - By Terence Calnan

Last year, after following a University course on “Environment Management and Planning” I decided to submit a Essay about chameleons in Gozo.

For several months I studied these amazing creatures, observing them closely and mapping their locations throughout the island. During this time, I learned a great deal about these animals. Mostly learned to respect them.

Eventually as autumn set in last year, the chameleon went into hiding, and soon they nowhere to be found.
I completely forgot about them, until few days ago, passing through a busy area of Sannat, I saw a pair of goggled eyes staring at me from a small bush.

I am lazy and having been writing much lately.  Almost a months has passed since the Public Forum “Gozo as an Ecological Island” and I wrote nothing more on the subject.

Last month’s forum seemed to have sparked the idea of publicly discussing matters that are in the interest of most residents. That’s a great thing. A good democracy should promote public debates in which stakeholder can express their opinion and broaden their horizons.

Next on the list is about a debate that has been going on for many years. Whether or not implement a valid airlink between Gozo and Malta.

The discussion, promoted by Business Chamber of Commerce, will be held on Tuesday, the 1st of July 2008, at the Grand Hotel, Mgarr, at 7.30pm.  ( more details).

See you there.

Could Gozo become an ecological island? I don’t know, but it would be nice.

Yesterday, as the Mepa decided to go ahead with the shameful re-development of Mistra Villate, I attended to the first European Parliament Civil Forum discussing ‘Gozo as an Ecological Island’.

So, here are some of the points one needs to ponder on:

• Renewable Energy
• Water Conservation
• Ecotourism ( AgroTourism and FishingTourism)
• Organic Farming
• Nature Conservation
• Green Transport

In the coming days I will try to elaborate and give my personal view on these points. Feel free to post your comments.

Few years ago when I lived in Germany, a European law was passed that said that all products had to state whether or not they were organic. Suddenly there was all kind of organic products on the shelves. There was all kind of bio ( German for organic) stuff. There were bio-cereals, bio-fruits, bio-vegetable, bio-eggs. Yet the organic products were a just small proportion compared to all the rest, the non organic ones. What did it mean? Had everything I had been eating up to then been NOT organic??

So, when did all this happen??? When had all the normal products become not normal! I must have been asleep when it happened as when I grew up, I had always been told that the vegetable and fruit were a direct produce of the earth and therefore very healthy. Now I was being told that it was not like this and that most of the food I ate, even the one I thought was the healthiest, was actually adulterated, polluted or maybe genetically or chemically modified. It meant that all the apples, oranges, tomatoes, potatoes that I had been buying at the supermarket were actually not the genuine product. Or maybe they were, but they were definitely not as healthy as I had always thought.

But why am I talking of this.

This morning I was at the car-boot sale in Marsalforn. As usual, I bought plenty of books which I will never manage to read, but beside that, I made a little discovery. On my way back to the car I noticed a lovely French(?) lady distributing some leaflets and ask for one. It said “Organika - Gozo goes Organic!” and it’s about a new shop in St. Gorg’s Square. Who knows, it might be a place worth checking out.