SPIDERS! - advice for an arachnophobe :(

HI,

Myself and my wife fell in love with Malta last year. It was almost love at first bite for my wife. The climate, the food, the friendly locals. On our first visit, we stayed in a lovely penthouse in Marsascala, overlooking the bay. Beautiful. Really gorgeous.

We walked into the apartment, checked the rooms. Clean, simple, tidy. Perfect.

Checked the balcony overlooking the bay. Oh wow! We ate local pizza, drank wine and relaxed. The honeymoon period in any place new fades after time, we know this. But Malta....this felt like home for us both, within hours of arriving. This may sound silly, but even the airport - that strangest of places, between worlds. A hub of humankind, rushing from A to Z, finding downtime to have a bite to eat, a drink, and watch people pass by who you will most likely never see again. Most international airports feel the same, despite the country. A kind of 'no mans starbucks'.

But, the Malta airport....if you've seen it, you know. Small. No fuss. No overbearing security. You arrive, you show your passport, and before you know it...outside. OUTSIDE! It comes so fast it's a revelation. Have a smoke, sit for a coffee. And then, when the desire takes you, it's so easy to just  hop on a bus, and away...away you go.

I digress.

That first balcony, beautiful view. And then. I check the second  balcony. Not a great view, but the space is good. Large. Nice, solid wooden table for morning breakfast. I walk to the wall, a smoke ready and lighting it I rest on the balcony and look up at the night sky. Not as vibrant as I expected being in the Med. The stars in Greece have no competition, however, the peace is surprising.

And then, as any arachnophobe will understand....that shadow. 'That' movement. It's like an alarm in the head, 'Danger' 'Danger' - run the f away! Or Freeze.

I ran.

I've seen big ones of course. The uk has it's share of them. But this was....really, really big. And, as if to say, "ok, the place is yours now", he ever so slowly walked (creeped), behind the wall and down. Never to be seen again.

So my first night in Malta? - checking every inch of our apartment for aliens with 8 legs. In those 10 days of bliss, I marveled at the lizards, the beautiful moths and butterflies, the quizzical stray cats and fantastic sea life. Never to see a spider again.

But of course, I need to ask...Spiders? In the UK, I become 'self defensive' during autumn. Because I just know that the next door I will open, one big freak will show him/herself, and damn near give me a heart attack. ....yes, to some it's sad, but if like me you feel the same, then you know..

Spiders? Malta? - should I build an apartment in the sea?