Andy & Anita's adventures

A weekend on Gozo…

We have now been in Malta for nearly a month – wow how the time has flown!!

After a week in Sliema we arranged to spend the weekend on the smaller island of Gozo in order to meet Andrew’s family. We had a brilliant weekend seeing the natural sights, such as the Azure window (an archway naturally cut out of a cliff) and the man-made attractions (the Ta’ Pinu church with its walls lined with ‘evidence’ of miracles – many from Australia).
The capital city of Victoria (Rabat) is dwarfed by a massive Citadella, the ancient fortification which used to protect the townsfolk from constant invasion and raids over the centuries. Now in a state of disrepair following a large earthquake it is filled with ruins, museums and other fascinating things. It was brilliant to stand high on the walls where you can get a view of almost the entire island. I also particularly liked a roman inscription carved into a wall in a corridor from 2AD – not something you see every day!

The most important attraction on Gozo however is the Gganitja Temples; a crumbling mass of rocks piled high into a temple structure… this is the oldest freestanding structure in the world. Here I was thinking the pyramids had that honour! Despite being essentially a pile of rocks, it was an amazing sight. I really had to wonder how they got the rocks (many weighing several tonnes) up the hill from over 1km away…
We stayed in a great little bed and breakfast in Malasforn, on the central north coast and about 4km from the capital (nothing is far from Victoria on this tiny 7km-by-14km island!). We spent one evening strolling along the coastline watching the sunset over the cliffs and saltpans – magic. The next afternoon we took a walk from Victoria to Calipso Cave, overlooking Ramla Bay, and then continued walking all the way back to Malasforn. Calipso Cave is said to be the cave mentioned by Homer in ‘The Odyssey’ where the goddess Calipso kept her ‘Prisioner of Love’ for 7 years…. Sure it had a nice view but the cave itself was nothing to get romantic about! Haha

Andrew’s family was great and had so many stories to tell. They have 3 small dogs which I think have replaced their now grown-up children – they were characters! The girls even came home from Brussels and Malta for the weekend to meet us so it was a big Sunday lunch with the family! I wish I could cook that well!
We took the ferry back to Gozo with Maria, Andrew’s cousin, and got great views of Comino (the smallest of the three Maltese islands and uninhabited but for an elderly couple). We hope to get back to Gozo, before we leave because it really was a fascinating place that deserves further exploration.