While coming here to Malta, two days ago, on the plane, I was talking to that Greek guy. “Will you go to Popeye Village?” he asked me. I then got to know of that artificial village which was used as the set of the 1980 musical film Popeye and now functions as a museum. I didn’t know that there is such a film, and it’s been many years since I last bumped into anything to remind me of Popeye. I did remember that Popeye used to be my favorite comic when I was a kid. So I thought “why not?” and added the place to my list of places to visit on the island of Malta.
On the second day today in Malta, I decided to head to Popeye Village. In order to get there, I found bus nr. 222 running between Sliema and Ghadira. From there, there is another bus going all the way to the entrance of the museum. Although, the distance is about a mere kilometer, so I decided to walk.
It took a good hour for the bus to stop in front of Ghadira Beach. This was the first proper, wide sandy beach I got to see on Malta. I loitered a little, staring at the deep-blue Ghadira Bay and the nice view of Mellieha town atop the hill to the south, and set off striding towards the village of Popeye.
What’s dubbed as Ghadira Nature Reserve on the map was not exactly what I imagined – hearing of a ‘nature reserve’ – but rather what I should have imagined a nature reserve on a 316 km² island populated by nearly half a million people to be. Just a swamp, basically, surrounded by reeds and Indian figs. There was a nice view of St Agatha’s Tower, also known as the Red Tower, atop the hill to the north. The trail passed through a cute stone village, and I soon was in front of Popeye Village.
This is built on the sloping shore of a superbly beautiful, oblong bay. The wind’s been blowing strong today, leading big, compressed Mediterranean waves into the bay, which crashed and dissolved into sprinkling white froth over the cliff faces. The walk on the south cliff offers some really astonishing views to the village and the bay.
I proceeded to the ticket office. The entry cost me €10.50 and included a free postcard, commemorative photo, and glass of wine. I would have liked it to be cheaper, given the very small size of the site, but whatever, the visit there was worth it overall.
This improvised village is made up of one road and a small number of houses purposely designed to be reminiscent of wistful decay. You cannot help but feel mentally transported to a distant epoch of a remote world.
Most of the houses are open to the public to enter. Two of them host snack-bars with nice wooden porches overlooking the bay. The rest host different exhibits related to the movie and the history of Popeye as a whole. A cinema operates in one of them where the musical is screened. Overall, Popeye Village makes for one of the most picturesque sights one can visit on Malta.
Accommodation and Activities in Malta
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