Blogs from Gozo, Malta, Europe

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Europe » Malta » Gozo » Victoria September 7th 2023

En débarquant du traversier qui nous emmène depuis l’extrême nord de l’île de Malte vers l’île de Gozo, c’est une atmosphère bien différente qui nous envahit. Le tapage de La Valette reste derrière et on avance doucement ici au rythme des vacances. J’ai posé ma petite valise dans une charmante auberge de In-Nadur, sur le côté est de l’île. Après la capitale, Rabat, que les britanniques ont rebaptisée Victoria durant leur occupation, Nadur est la deuxième ville en importance de l’île. Je suis accueillie à cette petite auberge de 5 chambres par les ronrons de Georges, le chat du logis, par les chants du coq de la voisine et par les bavardages des femmes assises sur le pas de leurs portes qui font écho. Je ressens tout de suite un calme bienfaisant qui me font apprécier ... read more
La charmante piscine de l’auberge
Les marais salants
Les marais salants

Europe » Malta » Gozo » Victoria July 31st 2023

After our rebellion at the hotel yesterday (see ), 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 ), we've never checked out of a hotel early before. On that occasion, we left Vegas and went on to Death Valley (see ). 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 ... read more
Comino and Ferry
Ggantija Temples
Ggantija Temples

Europe » Malta » Gozo August 16th 2022

Today’s our last full day in Gozo and Malta more generally, and we plan to spend most of it on the beach. We went to great pains to move the car last night. Signs in the car park told us they’d tow it away if we left it anywhere near where they set up a market there every Tuesday morning. We’re looking forward to taking some happy snaps of the market, but we arrive to find that the “tow away” zone is still full of cars, and no signs of anything resembling a market. Hmmm. Next up is an off-road detour to take in the views we’re supposed to be able to get from Qortin Dog Park at the top of a ridge overlooking Marsalforn. Issy says we probably shouldn't expect to find too many dogs ... read more
Marsalforn Bay
Ramla Bay
Marsalforn Bay

Europe » Malta » Gozo » Sannat August 15th 2022

Gozo’s not that big, about five kilometres from one side to the other, so we set off on a drive, figuring that if we keep going for long enough we’re sure to find something interesting. We don’t have to wait too long. The set of salt pans a kilometre or so west of Marsalforn is the most extensive collection we’ve seen in Malta so far, all laid out in neat geometric patterns on the flat rocks a metre or so above the waterline. And this lot is very definitely still a going concern. Unlike all the others we’ve seen, there are signs here warning us to keep out on pain of death, well maybe not quite, but the message is clear enough. We read that they’ve been here since the early 1800s, and the same family’s ... read more
Salt pans near Marsalforn
Salt pans near Marsalforn
Ta Cenc cliffs

Europe » Malta » Gozo August 14th 2022

Today we’ve arranged to catch up with Issy’s second cousin Kevin who lives here in Gozo in the nearby village of Xaghra. I’ve got absolutely no idea how to pronounce that, and I’ve now given up trying to pronounce any Maltese words because Issy just laughs at me whenever I do. It doesn’t help that the Maltese alphabet includes a lot of strange additions that change the way letters are pronounced - a cross through an “h”, dots above “g”’s, “z”’s and “c”‘s - all very mysterious. Kevin’s house mightn’t be far away, but it might as well be on Mars for all the help the GPS is in navigating our way there. Its special trick today is to constantly try to take us the wrong way down one way streets. Very amusing … not. Anyway ... read more
With Kevin and Katerina at Hondoq Bay
Hondoq Bay cafe
Hondoq Bay cafe

Europe » Malta » Gozo August 13th 2022

Today we head across the strait to Malta’s second most populous island, Gozo. I should probably put that in a bit of context; according to the ever reliable Wikipedia the permanent population of the country’s third most populous island, the mighty Comino, is two; no, not two thousand, two people. In fairness, Gozo’s population is a respectable 30,000 out of the country’s total of just over half a million. We’ve visited the island a couple of times before and really liked what we saw, but we’ve never stayed there, so we’re really looking forward to the experience. I’ve never thought that working in a rental car office would be all that interesting but it seems it might have its moments. As I wait in line at the office at the airport I hear the guy behind ... read more
Marsalforn Bay
Salt pans
Zebbug Parish Church

Europe » Malta » Gozo November 15th 2021

Sitting in the airport waiting for our flight to Lisbon, determined to get the Malta blog published. We LOVED Malta. It is like walking around in a medieval movie set, stone walls, amazing cathedrals, lots of restaurants. We spent 9 days and could easily have stayed longer... but I suppose that is true of most places we visit. Will just go ahead and post the pics.... read more
Beautiful Valletta
Basilica of the National Shrine of the Blessed Virgin, Gozo
The front of the Basilica

Europe » Malta » Gozo May 26th 2019

Now time to explore the island of Gozo before going to the island of Malta. Just don’t be confused, both islands are part of the country of Malta. Malta is made up of 4 islands and we will get to two of them on this trip. Malta has a very long history and has seen its fill of struggles due to its strategic location in the Mediterranean. On our first full day in Gozo we got a lot of sightseeing in as we hopped on a bus first thing in the morning. We road into Victoria and caught another bus to get out to visit the Ggantija Temples and the Ta Kola Windmill in the village of Xaghra. These temples date back to 3,600 BC and are located in a wonderful area of the island with ... read more
Finishing Up the Last of our Tunisian Strawberries
Views Around the Marina Area of Mgaar on Gozo
Can You Imagine Walking Under This Working Equipment

Europe » Malta » Gozo May 21st 2019

It was finally looking like the weather was going to cooperate and we were going to be able to start our sailing season and leave Monastir and head to the island of Gozo in Malta. Bob had been checking the weather daily (quite a few times each day!) and it had been against us for quite a while (as well as others in the marina). It now looked like we could leave on Monday, May 20th and we found out that there were going to be 3 other boats leaving as well that day. At least that helped confirm that what we saw in the weather forecast, others saw it as well. Always nice to get that confirmation. When leaving Tunisia you must first check out with the Police and then with the Customs office. It ... read more
When Seas are Flat the Table Can Actually be Used!
Duty Done Differently At Different Times!
A Freighter To Watch

Europe » Malta » Gozo » Xlendi September 20th 2018

Those earplugs worked a treat! I did wake at 4am though with a cramp in my leg. After dealing with that I got up to look outside, as I knew thunderstorms were predicted for today. I had heard a very loud clap of thunder (through the earplugs) sometime earlier, so I wanted to see what the impact had been. The sea was quite high and there were even small waves washing up the steps in front of the hotel, which was interesting. The next morning I could see one of the restaurants hosing down their floor so I assume the water came up that high. After breakfast I chatted to the guy at reception about options for today. I wanted to see the Citadel but was also interested in a boat trip of some sort. There ... read more
View Dr the Citadel towards the port of Mgarr
The Citadel
I love sandstone against blue sky with white clouds




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