Malta and Gozo

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Today the tour group visited Gozo. It is the second largest of the small archipelago that makes up the country of Malta. One gets there by boat and there is a ferry that runs frequently throughout the day (see picture). I was surprised how large the ship was and many people were on board. Lots of people going and coming from Gozo! We boarded a bus and rode to the megalithic ruins of Ggantija (see picture). Like the other ruins we saw yesterday, not much is known about the builders of these ancient structures, but it is something to imagine men moving these huge boulders before machines and even before metalworking. Our next stop was the cathedral. Nearly everyone in Malta is Catholic and there are two cathedrals, one on the island of Malta and one on Gozo. This one was visited by Saint John Paul II when he was Pope and his statue stands outside along with Pope Pius IX (see picture). Our final stop was the Bay of Xlendi (see picture). It used to be a picturesque little fishing village, but it has been discovered by tourism and, although one can see the remnants of what once made it charming, much of its attractiveness is now gone.

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