Lately, while wandering around my hometown I noticed that another valley merged with Wied Qirda. Throughout my whole life I had never ventured to go through it although many a time I walked close by.
It all started some weeks ago, when one day while doing my morning walk, I noticed a path behind a water pumping station and I decided to give it a try. This first part was a short one through the valley bed and amongst trees and shrubs, which led me to the outskirts of Zebbug. I had never imagined this path would lead to this place.
Thus I started doing some research about this valley. Unfortunately I didn’t find much online. I checked with some bookstores if they had any book about valleys in our islands and the answer was a negative one. I searched on google maps to get an idea where this valley goes through and where it leads too. It looked like this valley is a long one, stretching from Zebbug to Rabat, although most probably it led to other valleys.
Since I was not able to find much information, I turned my focus to the locals’ knowledge. Throughout my morning walks, I made it a point to pass close to this valley and whenever I saw a farmer in the area, I asked him for some advice and information about this valley. Most farmers advised me that it’s quite difficult to go through parts of this valley since there is no path and shrubs have grown widely around. Only one farmer, who had some fields close by the valley encouraged me to try it. He recounted that many years ago, in his childhood days, there was a path as he used to go through it every day to go home from the fields.
After days of planning, last Friday I decided to try and walk the whole stretch of this valley. The starting part is easy, going through a path close to the village outskirts. This is where probably the valley ends and its waters merge into Wied Qirda. After walking a short distance, I had to get into the road as fields and houses blocked the way. I walked round the built up area and went down a couple of steps which got me back into the valley.
Walking on the valley bed wasn’t difficult at all. Probably very few people go through here as everything seemed untouched. I am sure that after a heavy rainfall the area would be lovely and fresher than it is at this time of the year. At the end of this part you walk by the side of a pumping station called Ta’ Bakkja.
From there I crossed the path and got to another interesting part of this valley. This seems to be the middle part of this valley, and is probably the most difficult as it is the least spoilt. I climbed up a retention wall and continued walking slowly. The valley itself in this part is full of soil, thorny shrubs, bamboo and some trees. The valley bed is not visible at all. I walked for about 200meters and realised that I can’t go much further inside as the foliage was too thick to get through.
I thus climbed up a wall to get a clear picture of the valley and from where I can pass from. As soon as I surfaced up from the valley, I must have caught the attention of a farmer who was nearby. He instantly called me. I thought he’d be angry that I had walked into his field, yet he told me not to walk anymore from that point onwards as the valley gets very hard to go through. I told him that my aim was to walk the whole valley bed, yet he suggested that I pass through his field and further on through a vineyard until I get to the road. I had another look around to check whether a path is visible, yet none could be seen. So I took up his idea of walking through his field and the vineyard without damaging anything. While walking through the vineyard I had another look at the valley, still hoping to find a path down beneath, yet instead of a path I found a small deep lake stretching the whole width of the valley, which would have made it impossible for me to pass from.
Past the vineyard, I crossed the road and walked through another path, which I guess it’s another part of this valley or could also be another one called St. Anthony’s Valley. Fields lie on one side, and the valley on the other. I kept walking straight ahead and the bamboo sticks got more dense. By the sides of the valley there were also a good number of caper plants. Probably no one bothers collecting capers from here!!! I kept walking until I found another retention wall. My aim was to go climb it and keep on going. Yet as soon as I got a glimpse of what lied ahead, I saw 3 hunting dogs running towards my location. They probably heard or smelled my presence.
My first thought was to keep walking ahead yet in no way was I ready to confront three dogs. Thus I chose to start walking back. I hadn’t much left to finish walking this valley, yet my gut feeling told me it’s better to stop here. I turned back, and passed through another path, met a farmer, and had a good conversation with him. I enjoy engaging in a friendly talk with such farmers. They are so down to earth and appreciate the simple things in life. May I always be more like them.
eman azzopardi 