Malta XB 2025

11 th  July 2025   High of 32℃ O ur fourth day of the expedition found us leaving Mosta scout camp to  Gha jn   Tuffieha  campsite, the national scout campsite, which is not pronounced in any way discernibly related to  its spelling. Here, we had the absolute pleasure of meeting the 1 st   Quorma  scout group, who welcomed us  in to  their activities  – and meals! We retreated to the beach under the watchful eyes of our lead ers, who  didn’t  seem at all disappointed that we turned up over an hour late and gave them time alone on the beach.  Near the beach, we found a glorious food truck willing to offer us the “best burgers in Malta” as well as some challenge-completing traditional food  and entirely living up to its claim.     Back at the campsite, we were invited to dinner and flag break with the local scouts.  We took advantage of the time saved by not cooking dinner to hand wash our clothes . ...

8 th  July 2025   High of 36℃ Travelled  18 km   Earlier this year, my county scout group  organised  a trip to Malta wit h the goal of completing our Explorer Belt (XB) challenge. This involves   demonstrating , over a 10-day period, competence in various skills:   Navigation skills   Expedition cooking   Lightweight camping   Language   Acceptable hosted hospitality   Fitness   Proficiency  in mode of travel   Team building   First Aid (covering First Response as a minimum)   Budgeting   Record keeping   Projects – major and minor   All culminating in a 20-minute mandatory presentation in September,  by  which time I had moved country – oops!   W e spent two days under the supervision of our leaders before tackling the independent expedition.  My group,  comprised  of six sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds, had chosen to discover  the  World ...