Hi There! I’ve been approached by the wonderful Renita Busuttil, the brains behind TravelDosed, to share one of my more memorable experiences abroad.
For those who don’t know me, I would not consider myself to be a travel bug, yet the nature and role of my career as a national athlete has led me on many opportunities to travel to different countries and territories, beyond those which Maltesers typically dip our toes in! It’s not that I don’t find travelling to be a joyful experience but more so because I have not yet experienced travelling without the accompanying stresses and pressures of having to compete internationally (which is a great feeling in itself). This also means that my time abroad when travelling has been limited to eating-training-sleeping & repeat for the whole trip, so I envy all of you travellers who get to actually relax as they travel abroad!
Every two years, Games are held between the smallest countries and states within Europe, appropriately called the “Games for the Small States of Euope” or GSSE in short... The countries which participate are; Andorra, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Montenegro and San Marino. These games are very important for Malta as they are considered to be a benchmark for our sportive capabilities by comparing with states of similar population. Following my success in GSSE 2017 held at San Marino, I qualified for the 18th Edition of the GSSE to defend my title, all the way in Budva, Montenegro.
Wrapped by a number of different countries, Montenegro is often the country to be least recognized when one comes to think of the Balkans. To the west of Montenegro, are Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia and Kosovo to the north-west and Albania flanks the south border. The name Montenegro, does translate to “Black Mountain” and the country surely is characterized by dense woodlands and expansive mountainous terrains.
Team Malta visited Montenegro from the 25th of May till 2nd June of last year. At that time, no direct flights between Malta and Montenegro were available, so a charter flight was organised for us. If you ever want to visit Montenegro, you’d need a detour to Rome or head to one of the other Balkan countries prior.
Our flight descended onto Podgorica, Montenegro’s capital, early Sunday morning. As we disembarked, the brisk and cool weather instantly contrasted with the higher temperatures we were having back home in Malta. Once all of our team’s equipment passed through customs clearance, we were off onto a long bus ride through the winding roads and steep cliffs of Crna Gora, on our way to the seaside resort town of Budva.
Budva is one of the very popular tourist beach resorts at Montenegro, and a very popular destination in summer. Beaches stretch from corner to corner of the coast, darting in and out of the hilly coastline.
At each Games, a superb opening ceremony is carried out. Apart from stellar choreography and entertainment, the entire team of each state is welcomed on stage as an introduction and start to the Games. For this edition, the Maltese Olympic Committee bestowed upon me the gracious honour to bear the Maltese Flag and lead the whole contingent into the opening ceremony. This was one of the highlights from this experience, grasping the Maltese flag and leading our team onto the stage, onto the Games, eager to do our best and show what we’ve got, for ourselves and for our country!
Contrary to the typical climate of Montenegro, the week the Games were to be held were dominated by strong winds, rain and grey skies. The weather was so poor that events were being postponed and delayed. As a shooting athlete, I spent most of my time at the shooting range in Markovíc. The first few days of training were cancelled due to heavy fog up in the mountains, were the shooting range was located. After a few days, the dark skies faded away and out came the bright sun and heat that is so familiar in Budva.
As the days rolled by, my competition date was nearing closer and closer. With some last few shooting sessions before the big day, the excitement grew larger but so did stress. Never the less, the day came and on the 31st of May 2019, I successfully defended my title as Double Trap Champion of the Small States of Europe, after winning the title two years prior in San Marino 2017.
GSSE Montenegro was a memorable experience for me personally, having my parents coming along to witness me bear the Maltese flag twice, during the opening ceremony and then on the top spot of the podium after winning gold, will remain ingrained into my memories for the rest of my life.
Sports may have limited my time to enjoy travelling and exploring the world, but it has given me just as many opportunities to see the world through the eyes as a competing athlete, passing the popular destinations and tourist spots but enjoying the different things the country has to offer.
Ok, so I didn’t get to go proper sight-seeing… but did I mention this lake? What a sight right!
コメント