I marked one month in
Malta by spending a weekend in
Sicily, and I decided to mark (just over) two months here by spending a weekend in Gozo, Malta's sister island. Although Gozo is part of the country of Malta, it is considered to be almost its own country in some respects, as it's a very different place to the island of Malta. So I was very excited to explore its sights and discover some of the Gozitan culture.
As it happened, this trip couldn't have come at a better time. During the preceding 10 days, Malta had experienced an extreme heatwave, with temperatures exceeding 40 degrees throughout most of the day. This had led to problems with the electricity supply across the island, causing multiple power outages. I was lucky not to completely lose power in my studio apartment in the hostel where we interns were staying, but I spent a large part of those 10 days either without internet, air conditioning or both. It was horrible trying to sleep in what was basically a sauna for several nights in a row! Fortunately, by the Thursday evening, the temperature had gone done a bit and the power was restored. All the same, I couldn't wait to get away on the Friday afternoon and spend two full days in a more peaceful location and stay in nice accommodation!
You can only get to Gozo by boat, and I chose to get the Gozo Channel ferry from the far north of Malta Island. This is the cheapest option, but in hindsight, it wasn't the best one. Although the ferry journey itself is only 25 minutes, the bus journey from Msida to the north of the island took about 90 minutes, and the bus arrived at my stop nearly half an hour late. In future, I would instead take the 45-minute ferry from
Valletta, which is more expensive, but makes for a quicker and less stressful overall journey.
Even though the bus journey was slow and long, I enjoyed taking the Gozo Channel ferry. There's a little terminal at the north of Malta with a waiting room, toilets and vending machines, and you just get on the first ferry that turns up, which will always be within 30 minutes. Interestingly, you get on the ferry without paying and then pay for both tickets on your way back from Gozo.
There's a little shop and café on the ferry, as well as plenty of seats and tables, and I rather enjoyed the little journey.
Shortly after I arrived at the Gozo ferry terminal, a bus arrived which took me to Victoria, also known as Rabat, the island's capital and where I would be staying.
Then I walked through the city to my hotel in St George's Square, where you can find St George's Basilica. The town, and especially the square, looked so pretty and charming lit up at night.
My hotel, 39 St. George, was a really lovely place to stay, with stone walls giving it a kind of Medieval vibe. My room had a great view over the square and the basilica!
The first place I went to the next morning was the Citadel, or Citadella, which is one of the places I was most excited to visit on the island. Located on a high hill above Victoria, this Medieval walled city is stunning to look at, especially in pictures taken from above.
The first thing I did after arriving in the Citadella was to buy a ticket at the archaeology museum. This gave me entrance to the museum itself, as well as a few other places in the Citadella.
The archaeology museum is small but quite interesting, with lots of articles from different periods in Maltese history, including artwork from prehistoric times.
After visiting the museum, I went to look around the Citadella. The main sight to see is Cathedral of the Assumption, which is built on the site of a Roman temple.
Aside from the archaeology museum, I visited the nature museum, Gran Castello Historic House (a house which is designed to look how it would have done in the 17th century) and an art exhibition. It was also really nice to walk around the Citadella and enjoy the views of its buildings and of the island beyond.
After having a good explore of the Citadel, I walked back down into town to find some lunch. In my opinion, it's not a proper holiday (or weekend away) without indulging a little bit, so I had a veggie burger at Ta' Ċetta Brasserie, followed by vegan ice cream from Vanilla+ Gelateria. I ate the ice cream in a little park, where I met a very friendly orange cat!
I then went back to the hotel to get changed, before taking the bus over to Ramla Bay to spend the rest of the afternoon on the beach. I was really looking forward to visiting this beach, as it is known for having red sand and for being one of the most beautiful beaches in the archipelago.
To be honest, I'd say the sand is more golden than red, but it's a really beautiful beach, and probably my favourite that I visited in Malta. It's such a tranquil area of nature (much less crowded than the beaches on Malta Island), and the sea is crystal clear.
I had a great time swimming, sunbathing and reading, and then went for a sunset walk in the time before the bus to Victoria arrived. I went over to San Blas Bay, and although I didn't have time to make it all the way down to the beach, it was really nice to see the cliffs overlooking the sea. The nature in this area of the island is so unspoilt and amazing to look at.
After getting back to Victoria, I picked up some nice snacks from a supermarket deli and had a chilled out evening in my comfy room, watching Strike on the TV (it had British channels!) and chatting with Claudio.
The following morning, I packed up all my things in my backpack and checked out of the hotel. Then I went to a café on the other side of the square, where I had a "Millennial breakfast" (I suppose I do fit the stereotype of my generation by being a fan of avocado on toast, haha). Service was slow, but the food was really good.
My first tourist attraction of the day was Ta' Pinu National Shrine, a beautiful basilica located in the middle of the countryside. Because I'd been so long in the café, the inside of the basilica was closed to visitors by the time I arrived shortly after midday. But it was still amazing to see from the outside, and the surrounding landscapes were also stunning.
My next stop of the day was the Ġgantija temple complex. These temples are part of a
UNESCO World Heritage Site (Megalithic Temples of Malta) comprised of 6 sites across the Maltese archipelago. They were built in prehistoric times, and are actually even older than Stonehenge!
Before seeing the temples themselves, I had a look around the museum, which has little sculptures and articles that were found in the temples. It's amazing to think that they were made over 5500 years ago!
The temples are known for their large size and are said to have been built by a giantess! You can actually walk inside them, which is a nice experience.
One thing I found particularly interesting was that tourists from the 19th century had written their names and the dates they visited into one of the stones!
Not far from the temples, I came across this windmill, called Ta' Kola Windmill. It was built in the 1700s and reminds me of windmills I've seen in pictures of Greek islands.
By this point in the day, it was getting late, and I knew that it was sadly time for me to begin the journey home. So I took the bus back to Victoria and then to Mgarr port, enjoying some great views of the Citadella and beautiful churches along the way.
Then I got on the ferry to go to Malta. This time, I sat up on the top deck, so I could look at the scenery as we passed
Comino.
I had had such a great time in Gozo that I didn't want to leave, and I found myself wishing I hadn't left during the nearly two-hour Sunday night bus ride to get back to the hostel!
Gozo is a really beautiful and peaceful place with so much culture and history to discover - it offers everything you could want for a relaxing Mediterranean island holiday. My weekend there was a perfect break from the chaos of Malta and the stresses of the previous days. I plan to return at some point in the future to revisit the wonderful places I saw and to explore even more of the island!
