Jason Batansky

As I sit alone overlooking Roqueta Island in the bay from the balcony of my 50’s style minimalist hotel room, I take a swing from a bottle of Mezcal and feel a sense of nostalgia for a time I never knew. I am at Boca Chica, the chicest, retro, and storied hotel in Mexico’s best Pacific ocean fishing village turned city, Acapulco, and I can’t help but think that I might be able to write something worth remembering here, as I think about Hunter S. Thompson and Ernest Hemingway doing their scribbling, in a different age.

Easter Sunday on the island of Malta is not the traditional conservative family celebration you may be used to with egg hunts and baskets.  It is an island-wide party in every sense – from classy wine bars packed with families to historical buildings turned to daytime clubs, with party-goers overflowing into Malta’s historic streets.

That is not to say the Christians in Malta do not celebrate the Easter holiday like others worldwide because they do that too. But after chocolate eggs are consumed, rabbit-themed decorations are admired, and the traditional “seven visits” to different churches around the island are complete, the atmosphere becomes more festive.

Before full-blown party mode hits in the afternoon, the levity begins with more mood-lightening traditions. Some children walk around with figolli pastries in the shape of a heart or an animal to bring to the famous “Risen Christ” statue. Other children walk around with airsoft guns.

Of course, plenty of parades happens too. None of that is essential or even unique compared to all of the other Easter celebrations worldwide.

I am sure the women pictured watching the chaos below agree.

The big difference is what happens next.

The elevator from Malta’s Upper Barrakka Gardens dropped me off at a ferry that I boarded, intending to reach one of Malta’s oldest cities, Birgu, for an aimless stroll and half-hearted exploration.

I also partied the night before in the more famed Paceville, leaving me less than enthused to admire typical Easter celebrations. But the story of that night is for another time.

The ferry took me to the neighboring city, Cospicua, a double-fortified city on the harbor that sees far fewer outside visitors than Birgu. What I saw next was outrageous, out-of-control fun.

Every event space, bar, club, and street corner was packed with local deejays spinning tunes from techno to top-40. The fashion, revealing clothing, festive drinking, and the social environment turned Cospicua from a quiet neighborhood to a party town even in the afternoon that would rival New York City’s famed brunch clubs.

Beautiful Maltese women dressed as returning from a night out surrounded me in every direction. A sight to see indeed.

What you see next are photos from the only man taking pictures and not drinking in the town of Cospicua. I will never know what the Maltese thought of some stranger taking photographs and not drinking. Partly because shortly after the photos, I also partook in the drinking. What happens in Cospicua stays…(ah, forget it).

The following photos represent my experience in Cospicua during Easter Sunday. As you can see, it’s far from your average Sunday picnic, unless you picnic so hard the streets have to close!

I did not stick around too late to know what happened that night. Neither did most, I imagine.

For any adrenaline junkie, experiencing the raw power of a Porsche is one of the top-tier bucket list items.

There’s no need to pretend- it’s been on mine. Now imagine my excitement when I entered the Porsche factory in Leipzig, Germany, to witness the vehicle’s production and experience several lightning-fast laps around their test track.

A Speeding Ticket I Didn’t Mind Getting

Let’s skip straight to the part you care about most. How did it feel to drift, break, and accelerate in a Porsche 911? (With a professional driver, of course.) Just watch as we ride on their break-in and control track.

According to Porsche,

“On our own break-in and control track you can experience how this car performs in copies of bends of some of the world’s most famous race tracks including the Loews, the Bus Stop and the Parabolica – they’ve all been merged into our test track.”

Watch the video as we hit the track’s six breaking points in tandem with another car. The six flat-out stretches of the track meant full acceleration at mind-blowing speeds similar to my experience driving a Ferrari in Emilia Romagna, Italy. But unlike that experience, or the time I went drifting in Mexico, this ride-along allowed me to understand what it’s like to hit the breaks on a nearly four-kilometer course. An $84,000+ car will do that.

Watch my smiling face after returning existing the Porsche 911.

Despite the car’s price tag, this is not just an exclusive experience for millionaires.  You can also travel to Germany and do the same. It’s worth the price to feel the 350-to-560 horsepower engine on a course that mimics the most famous corners from world-renowned tracks like the Suzuka Esses or Laguna Seca Corkscrew.

As expected, the Germans came prepared. Chilled drinks were waiting for me as I returned to their customer center to soak in my VIP experience.

Where the Dream is Born

Along with co-piloting the Porsche 911, I toured the Porshe factory in Leipzig.

Touring around the factory production site was truly an experience. Before entering the world of Porsche production, I listened to an overview of the factory layout and production capabilities before entering the factory doors (no photos allowed).

The production line and advanced assembly systems were a glorious sight to behold. Porsche Leipzig is a production site producing up to 500 Porsche Cayenne and Panamera cars per day. Their  “Lean Production” and the “Just in Time” methods allow for the famous German efficiency. For example, the loading sequence for the Cayenne and Panamera bodywork delivered to Leipzig by train corresponds exactly to the production sequence.

The result is the fastest possible production of the most powerful vehicle. More interesting is the ability of the factory to produce each car according to customer specifications. In other words, it’s not just an assembly line producing cookie-cutter machines. Each car is entirely different with unique customizations based on exact customer orders, thanks to the factory’s use of modular production techniques.

While I cannot take you on a tour of the factory, you can still take a virtual tour for a sense of what goes into the process.

All this having said, the Porsche Co-Pilot tour needs to be experienced to capture its overall awesomeness. This is a definite must-do if you’re in Leipzig and have an unshakeable need for speed.