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Published: August 1st 2023
Arriving in Gozo
The port town of Magarr on Gozo island,.After our rebellion at the hotel yesterday (see
Maybe Celebrating The Our Lady of Sorrows Feast or Maybe Not), we had cancelled the remainder of the nights in St. Paul's Bay and had booked to go back to Valletta. It was a bit sad and the hotel manager genuinely wanted to know why. Apart from Las Vegas, where we really despised both the hotel and the whole city (see
Fun and Games but Hating it Out of Principle), we've never checked out of a hotel early before.
On that occasion, we left Vegas and went on to Death Valley (see
We Left Vegas and it Got Hotter). There's a lot on the UK news at the moment about the current heat wave hitting both the Southern United States and Southern Europe, the latter of which we're experiencing first hand at the moment, Death Valley is in the middle of record temperatures of well over 50°C. It was a mild 43 when we were there, which is roughly what we are suffering through here at the moment. Another guest at the hotel had been telling us that the current temperature is tame in comparison to what it was before we arrived. There are no fires here though, unlike poor Rhodes and Corfu across in Greece. I wonder how Santorini is coping as we were there
Comino and Ferry
Another Gozo ferry from the other direction passing in front of the small island of Comino. no so long ago (see
Our Destination Ready For The AI Apocalypse).
We had such a downer on Las Vegas, as we had particularly enjoyed the calm and serenity of the national parks to then be hit with gambling, noise, parties, sex, drugs, more gambling, traffic, police sirens and yet more gambling full on and it was more than we could handle (see
From The Calm of Zion to The Madness of Vegas). The final straw was when we went down to the pool for some fun and games with the kids and were told to leave is it was the exclusive domain of posers strutting around with their cocktails.
These are both occasions when we had such a fantastic experience on the first part of our holiday, that the later parts never really measured up. In the Las Vegas case, if we'd gone there first then we would probably have enjoyed it and then found the national parks too quiet and boring. We don't think the situation is as reversable with St. Paul's Bay and Valletta though.
Actually, back in Valletta, whist were enjoying the last of the view from our balcony, we saw a family going down to the pool with their crocodile inflatables. I would love to have had
Ggantija Temples
The Maltese Stonehenge, but dating from 5000BC. crocodile inflatables in Las Vegas just to really annoy them all.
Anyway, back to this holiday. Before we headed to Valletta, we had booked to go to the other main Maltese island, Gozo, given that it's not far from St. Paul's Bay. Firstly, however, I got up for another early photography outing (to see what I could get with the sunrise and no audience), then we had breakfast, checked out, left our baggage at the hotel and waited outside for our tour bus to arrive. Oh, and there was another nail-in-the-coffin for the hotel as far as my wife was concerned - no Earl Grey tea for breakfast. We thought it would be a bit much to bring that up with the manager though!
We waited and we waited and we waited, and after about three quarters of an hour the bus finally turned up. We understand that it had started in Sliema and then stopped at multiple pick-ups on the way to us. Our stop and many others were all scheduled at the same time, so it's no surprise that it was late.
It didn't then take long to get to the ferry port and a
Ggantija Temples
Inside the temples. ferry was ready to leave, so we were hurried through the terminal, on to the ferry and then off it went. It was an incredibly smooth journey and only took about half an hour, so, despite the delays, we were there in no time.
We had decided to do a hop-on-hop-off bus tour, which meant that we would get to go to some locations in land. The alternative was a boat cruise, but that, of course, would only go to coastal locations. The boat tour would include the third Maltese island of Comino and its famous Blue Lagoon, which sounds reminiscent of Koh Phi Phi in Thailand (see
The Definition of Paradise). It meant that we would miss out on that, although we did get to see Camino from a distance as we went past on the ferry. It looked empty and desolate, leaving us to suspect that the Blue Lagoon is literally the only thing there.
There was a bus waiting (along with a competitor from another company) and it set off as soon as it was clear that no one else was coming off the ferry. Despite the heat, we sat on the top-deck of the bus, which was
Ka'Kola Windmill
Looking up at the windmill near the ancient temples. completely open with no shade, although there was a breeze once we were moving. I rolled-up my t-shirt sleaves to try and do something about the "squashy" look that I had acquired again having not learned my lesson from Santorini (see
From Looking Like an Influencer to a "Squashie"). I now have brown lower arms, red upper arms and a white body. Our daughter would be appalled and would probably have another name for that, which is even less complementary than "squashy".
It also wasn’t helped by some mosquito bites that I seemed to have picked-up overnight. Thankfully, it didn't wake me up, as hotel rooms have previously been laid to waste by battles between me and mosquitoes. It gets very personal very quickly.
The bus route has multiple stops, but there is definitely not enough time to get off at them all, so we had picked a couple that appealed to us. It needed a bit of planning and even just a couple of stops was going to be a bit of a rush to get round before we needed to catch the ferry to get back to Malta in time to then catch the last bus back to St. Paul's Bay. That said,
Gozo
Lots more impressive churches, all the more impressive as they standout against the flat land around them. if the worst came to the worst, I suppose we could just get a later ferry and then find a local bus (route 221 apparently) or book another "Bolt" taxi.
Our first stop was the Ggantija Temples. This is effectively Malta's Stonehenge. We've been to Stonehenge (see
Old School Navigation Saved The Day), so we approached this full of cynicism as to how these temples could possibly measure up. They date from around 5000BC and are the oldest freestanding structure in the world, much older than Stonehenge, which was built around 2500BC (so that's one-nil to the Ggantija Temples). However, when I say freestanding, parts of them are now being propped-up by some scaffolding, which is a shame, but necessary (that's one all). Whilst Stonehenge is made from huge blocks of stone, these temples are made from piles of much smaller rocks. Whilst these are impressive, I think that Stonehenge is more dramatic (that's two-one to Stonehenge, but not that I'm bias in any way).
The Ta'Kola Windmill is nearby so, after the we'd walked around the temples and once I had had my scoring independently verified, we walked up to the windmill for some photographs. It was open to go inside, but
Gift Shop
The coincidental ten minute stop by the hop-on-hop-off bus. we didn't as we didn't have time and we already have extensive experience of the inside of a Mediterranean windmill (see
Our Destination Ready For The AI Apocalypse).
We caught the next bus, which soon had a short 10 minute stop, presumably so that the driver could have a quick break. It happened to be right outside a large giftshop and we all obediently filed in there for a look around. Not a coincidence I'm sure. They did have some Limoncello though, which was tempting (see
But 2.8kg of Limoncello Isn't Going Last Me Very Long).
There was another 10 minute stop at the Ta' Pinu Sanctuary, or the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of Ta' Pinu to give it its full name. This is a very impressive church (granted, they all are here though) which particularly stands out as it's on its own in the middle of the countywide. It's very grand inside as well, but does not have all the elaborate and detailed decorations of some other churches that we have seen. There are some very colourful murals outside, detailing scenes from the life of Christ.
We enjoyed this, but 10 minutes were definitely not enough, so, as was everything today, it was very rushed. We
Limoncello
I would be rude not to! could have stayed longer, but that would have meant catching a later bus, which would have blown out our intricately planned schedule.
Our other stop was the capital of Gozo called Victoria. I say "Victoria" as that's what it was renamed to by the British, but the local Maltese seem to predominantly refer to it by its original name of "Rabat". I suppose it's a bit like when we went to Ho Chi Minh City (see
The Alternative Perspective From SAIGON) and it was clear that the communists had forced that name on everyone who lives there and who would still much rather call it Saigon.
To make matters even more confusing, Rabat is also the name of the town on Malta island that we visited a few days ago (see
Mazes Above and Below Ground). I can imagine that's probably why they renamed it.
What both Rabat's have in common is that they have a huge walled city nearby. Mdina in the case of Rebat (let's call the Malta one "Rebat 1") and the Cittadella in the case of "Rebat 2". Actually, maybe I should just stick with "Victoria", but please be assured that I didn't succumb to such pressure from the communists in
Skull
I'm not sure why a monk is holding a skull? Saigon.
The Cittadella is not quite on the same scale as Mdina, but it is very similar with lots of winding streets and a few churches and a cathedral. Again, there was no pressure it visit anyone's uncles' shops or a tannery. It was quite a welcome relief to walk around though the narrow streets as they provided lots of shade and there was a welcome breeze as the wind seemed to funnel through.
There's a single €5 ticket that will get entry into the Cittadella Visitors' Centre, the Gran Castella Historic House, the Gozo Museum of Archaeology, the Gozo Nature Museum and the Old Prison. Wow, that looks like good value, although I note it does not include the Cathedral, which must be separate. Despite the value, we really didn't have time, so we just had a walk around, enjoyed the views from the battlements and looked over the parts of it that are ruins.
We got back to where the bus would be picking us up again and we had a few minutes spare, so we went in an airconditioned coffee shop for an iced coffee, or an Earl Grey tea in my wife's case.
Ta' Pinu Sanctuary
Dominating the view. We needed to be careful catching the bus as the route stops in Victoria twice, the early one heading back around the parts of the island we had already seen. Our next stop now was the ferry terminal.
Sadly, we just missed one ferry so we were first in the queue for the next one, which would still get us to Malta before 6.00pm when we would need to catch the last coach back to St. Paul's Bay. The coach was sat there waiting for us, but the driver was nowhere to be seen. Some Germans were also waiting and literally as soon as it got to 6.00pm, one of them was straight into the ferry terminal to find the drive and get an explanation of why he was not ready to leave in time. He was probably having a cup of coffee or something and obviously didn't a good enough explanation as he was quickly dragged out (almost literally) looking very chastised.
Where were the Germans this morning (although their efficiency is not infallible - see
Gaining Weight at The Disaster Airport).
It's difficult for me to justify my earlier criticisms of the people in Las Vegas for cocktails, as, once
Ta' Pinu Sanctuary
Inside this impressive church. we got back to St. Paul's Bay, we hit the two-for-one cocktail circuit again. I think that's the fourth time now this holiday. My beer drinking friends back in the UK are going to disown me if they found out what a week in Malta has turned me into.
Furthermore, our choice of something to eat as nachos and chicken nibbies, for whilst we were drinking our cocktails. It's a dangerous, slippery slope when the drink options are now driving our food choices, rather than the other way around. Works for me though.
Once we got back to the hotel, we headed down to the pool for another late night swim (see
Mazes Above and Below Ground) to cool off after the hot day. I hid my arms, obviously. I also tried to order a cocktail so that I could strut around the pool with it, but, thankfully, they refused.
There's a sea inlet near our hotel that anyone can safely swim in. My wife checked it out and apparently it's even warmer than the pool, and that's quite warm. Talking of the sea, one thing that we have noticed is that the sea here does not have a tide. I
Ta' Pinu Sanctuary Murals
One of many outside the sanctuary. presume that it has something to do with the Mediterranean being relatively small and almost completely enclosed by land, but I would have thought the moon would still have some impact. Something to investigate online later.
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