Carmelo was a shy and polite gentleman, and worked as a railroad ticket inspector. He was stationed at Museum Station, which was the end of the line for the Maltese Railway. One day, he went to replace a sick colleague at the next train stop, which was Notabile Station on the other side of Mdina. It was the day which changed his life forever, because at Notabile Station worked a young lady named Paola, and she was the most beautiful lady he had ever seen.
Every single day since then, he felt the need to see Paola. They started to get to know each other. During lunchtime, Carmelo used to walk from Museum to Notabile Station, where they used to enjoy lunch together. To gain time, Carmelo used to walk along the railway tracks, rather than the longer way through the streets of Rabat. As shy and nervous as he was, he used to smoke a cigar along the way. Not to upset Paola with the cigar smell, he then used to take a spearmint. And to increase his attractiveness and please Paola further, just before meeting her he used to apply another dash of aftershave, comb his hair and arrange his clothes.
This cache will take you on this daily lunchtime journey of Carmelo, from Museum to Notabile Station through the tunnel passing under Mdina. Carmelo had strategically placed the cigars, spearmints, and a final box which contained a bottle of aftershave, a comb and some cleaning rags along the railway tracks. The starting coordinates are in front of this tunnel.
Unfortunately, the railroad tracks are not present any more in the tunnel. The tunnel was used as a mushroom farm for a number of years, but is now abandoned. Start walking along and you will pass through open doorways along the way. These doorways were built later on when the area was used as the farm. Start counting the number of open doorways which you pass. Along the way you will also notice small inlets along the sides of the tunnel. These were built so that railroad workers could crouch in these inlets and find shelter when the train would be passing. Just before the seventh open doorway, Carmelo had hidden a box of cigars in the small inlet on the right of the tunnel wall. You will find directions for his next stop for spearmints here. Continue following the instructions to find the final cache which still includes the box of aftershave which Carmelo used to apply. Other trinklets have also been left in the box which you can trade.
To be able to find this cache you will definitely require a flashlight. The approximately 600-700m long tunnel is pitch black and there is no mobile reception, so would not recommend in going alone. You will also require a pair of trekking shoes. Most probably your shoes are going to end up all dirty, so it is not recommended to search for the cache if you have more social plans later on such as going to a cafe or restaurant. Else I would suggest in having another pair of shoes into which you change after logging the cache.
(The story characters as well as certain details are fictional. Whoever would like more details with regards to the Maltese railway service can contact me and will help as much as I can. Thanks.)