The project was part of Vlogfest.
Dylan Efron (yes, Zac Efron’s brother) was one of the 10 creators chosen to visit our islands for Vlogfest which required them to create a vlog to showcase Malta and what it’s all about. And honestly, we think he’s hit the nail squarely on its head.
When I stepped off the plane in Malta, I was expecting a small, seaside European town with castles and violins. Well, Malta isn’t that. It’s a busy country with cars and cranes and energy, built on top of some of the most historical lands in the world.
“I came here with the question, ‘Is Malta worth visiting?’ and well, we’ve got two weeks to find out.” Dylan proceeds to interview locals who call Malta home to get their take on what Malta is and whether it’s worth checking out. “It’s an island paradise. Malta is a blend of culture, it’s a great place for festas and humanity really.”
Dylan asks quite the question to his first local: ‘Is Malta really religious?’ to which the local goes, “Really religious. Very Catholic. These are St Paul’s Islands and legend goes that St Paul arrived in Malta and was shipwrecked on this island. He was then bitten by a venomous snake and that’s why we don’t have venomous snakes over here and he brought Christianity to the island of Malta and that’s why we are Christians.”
“For me, Gozo is where it’s all happening,” one local diver chimes in. “Gozo is like the countryside of Malta, more nature, slow at times, no one’s in a hurry here and the best part is the sea all around. Gozo’s a tiny island and we’ve got beautiful sea, beautiful wilderness, and when I’m out in the sea, to me that’s very meditative and I connect with the blue world, and that blue world and the other world make me feel balanced.
“I grew up here all my life and for me, it just blends in very well with freediving. I can literally pick up my bags even in the wintertime because the sea doesn’t get too cold and I’m very in my element. I’m where I want to be, I’m with my friends and for me, there is nothing else really that excites me or makes me want to live.
“It isn’t a perfect place,” Dylan chimes in. “It feels rugged, maybe unrefined. There’s a lack of trees and wildlife dating back to the Roman Empire building ships, deforesting a lot of what was originally in Malta. But there’s a charm to this place that had me falling in love with it.”
“Walking through the city of Valletta, I would duck my head under an old stone archway, only to find a modern 21st-century bridge on the other side,” Dylan continues. “But Malta is changing. Speaking with the locals, there’s a nostalgia of old Malta, the one from their childhood with less development and less traffic and pollution. My biggest question when I arrived was ‘Is Malta worth visiting?’ It is! Absolutely. But more importantly, it’s worth protecting. Foreigners and locals alike can continue experiencing charm, and what makes Malta, Malta.” Nope, we’re not crying.
Watch the full vlog below