We grabbed a very quick early breakfast to be able to walk to the edge of the city just outside the walls to join our pickup for our trip. After 1 1/4 hours of stops at many pickup spots, we finally reached the other end of Malta island the ferry to Gozo. It was an interesting way to see the many different places where other people were staying. They were all much more commercial than Valletta which of course is the old harbor and fortress.
While the weather was sunny and fairly warm, the 40-50 mph winds still made it chilly. We dressed in layers and weren’t at all sorry. We met our Guide, Mario, as we reached the ferry terminal. We were told to get off the ferry in Gozo and look for bus #12. Ok it was #12 on the license plate. So not obvious but as we walked around the bus lot, I began to ask for #12. We found it. We jumped on and got the front seat behind the driver. We drove to a “scenic overlook” to see the harbor and the small island of Comino.
We moved on to the main attraction, the museum and archaeological site of GGANTIJA temples. The visit was a bit short but the museum and site were interesting. Gozo is 30 million years old. It is 100 years older than the pyramids. It is not volcanic which means it split off from one of the Pangea land masses. The artifacts and stones at ggantija are incredibly ancient. The stone temples have evidence of doors and decorative steps. Earthquakes and time have taken apart some of the original structures.
We moved on to a seaside area to see the view and the wild waves being thrown against the shore with the high winds. We then went to visit a church that has been visited by 3 popes because of miracles that have been “verified”. We saw walls outside the apses that were hung with artifacts of “cures”.
Off to lunch in the next town and then back to the ferry. Our trip back to Valletta was along the seaside road. We returned to Valletta in time to see a part of the carnival celebration. It’s crazy here. But our hotel is at the Dave of the city so we are in a quiet place.
We had a lovely dinner in a nearby restaurant. We stopped at a little convenience store to buy cookies to go with our leftover wine. Ready for our temple tour tomorrow. We have barely scratched the surface in Malta. We are having a very fun and interesting visit.
The Adventures of Anne 