On Thursday, May 7, I had booked a full day tour of Gozo, the second largest island that makes up the country of Malta. It was a great way to get to see a lot of the island, but it was definitely a long day, so buckle up!
I got picked up at 8:15 from outside a nearby hotel and driven up north to the very top of the island of Malta (only about 45 minutes away). There, we met up with several other vans of people who also got picked up from around the country. Because it was a bit windy that morning the tour company opted for us to take the ferry over, rather than the smaller boat they usually do. It was a bit chaotic as they tried to round everyone up, as it was a pretty large group and there were a couple other tour companies doing the same thing. We eventually all got in the line to get on the ferry and made our way on board. It was a short 15 minute ferry ride, and we could see Comino, another smaller island that is between Malta and Gozo. Comino only has two inhabitants, but has the Blue Lagoon, a popular swimming spot that supposedly gets very crowded in the summer.
After we got off the ferry in Gozo we were met with a group of tour guides and their Jeep buggies. Every tour guide had a sign with the names of the four or five people in their group, so we had to all go find which group we belonged in. Luckily, I found Sam, my tour guide, right away. There were already two people in the buggy, who I later found out were Jason and Emily from Syracuse, NY, and we were also joined by a couple from Latvia who had come over on the ferry with me. Jason and Emily had come to Gozo to run a half marathon trail run in a couple days, and as we traveled around the island we saw some of the areas marked out for the run and it looked like it would be beautiful, but very hilly.
Once we all got into the buggy, Sam sped off and we began the tour. I quickly found out that this little vehicle can get very loud, especially when going up hills, so it was a little difficult to hear his commentary from the back seat while we were driving. Sam explained to us that we had some options of where we could go throughout the day, so it could be a little customizable, although we mostly deferred to what he thought would be best. He first quickly stopped at an overlook to show us the view and some local plants, including the Prickly Pear!
Our first stop was at Ramla Bay. We pulled up to a beautiful sandy beach with large hills on either side, and Sam told us that you can hike up to the top of one to a cave called Calypso’s Cave, which is supposedly where Calypso kept Odysseus a prisoner in the Odyssey. He told us that the hike would take 20 minutes, although we were a little doubtful of this time estimate by how far away it looked, and opted not to do the hike. Nonetheless, we had a few minutes to enjoy the beach before heading back to the buggy.
We then drove to the Ggantija Temples, which I was very interested in seeing. These are known as the oldest freestanding structures in the world. It was interesting to see after just having been to some other Neolithic sites the day before. The museum showed some artifacts found at the site, and some seemed similar to what I had seen at the other sites. But what I thought was most interesting was that the stones looked a bit different. The Hypogeum and Tarxien Temples were made of the yellow limestone that is seen all over Malta as a primary building material. A lot of Ggantija, however, was made with a harder, different type of limestone and had a more gray look to it.
After taking in these ancient structures, we got back in the buggy to go back to the busier city of Victoria and visit the Cittadella. This is a small, fortified city from the 15th century on top of a hill complete with a church, small alleys between tall stone buildings, and fortress walls that you can walk on top of. We had only a half hour here (longer would have been nice, but I knew that some things would feel rushed since we were trying to see as much as possible in one day), so we did a quick walk around the walls and through some of the streets, taking in the beautiful views of the island. On the way back to meet our driver, we saw there was a small doorway at the base of one of the walls, where there were WWII shelters dug out underneath. Malta was bombed significantly during WWII, so several of the places I visited had shelters dug out below that you can still visit.
We then drove a little way to a restaurant where our lunch was being served. It was an interesting buffet that had nothing labeled, so I got a few little snacks, but was not too adventurous. We were laughing that that’s why Sam asked us if we were allergic to anything before we went in. They had a delicious pound cake for dessert though, so I definitely enjoyed that!
The next stop was the Munxar Path, where we had incredible views of the sea cliffs, and even a little stone bridge. Sam dropped us off and showed us the path to walk, so we got a little hike around to the next village where he drove to pick us up. It was a very scenic walk, and we saw that the marathon was going to going through this area, which seems like it would be quite challenging!
Sam got us back in the buggy and drove us down winding roads and through many small villages. It was interesting to see all the houses, and you could tell that by the names many were owned by people from other countries. Sam explained how when he was growing up there were a lot more local people in Gozo, but over time it has become a lot more mixed with people immigrating from other countries and Maltese people moving abroad.
Our next stop was quick but very cool to see. Sam pulled over on the side of the road and we could look down into a limestone quarry, where we could see the people working to cut those yellow stones that are everywhere in Malta. Because the limestone is such a soft stone, it wears away in the sun and wind, and buildings need to have their stones replaced every so often, so obviously this is still a very necessary process. It was really cool to see where all of this material is coming from and the process they use today.
Next, we drove to the Dwejra Inland Sea, which was another of my favorite stops of the day. Here, you walk down to a little cove where you can get on a boat and they will take you completely through a cave out to the other side where you are back out in the Mediterranean. They took us into a few other sea caves and we could see the beautiful blue water (although I’m sure it would be nicer if it wasn’t so hazy out) and even coral growing on the side of the rocks. I love a boat ride, and this was one of my highlights of the day!
Our last stop of the day was at the Xwejni Salt Pans. This is an area right on the coast of the island where there are shallow shapes cut out of the rock. During the summer months salt water is left to evaporate and the remaining salt is harvested. This tradition has been happening for 350 years, and still continues today, so when we arrived we were able to sample and buy salt that came from right where we were standing!
We then had just a short drive back to the ferry terminal, but instead of taking the ferry back we were informed that the wind had calmed enough that we could take the smaller boat trip ride back. We all got on board a wooden boat and were off back past Comino to Malta. The wind may have calmed, but it was still a pretty rocky ride, so I was glad we hadn’t gone in the morning if it would have been worse. The views were pretty even though it was a bit of a hazy day, and we made it back safely to the island of Malta, where we found our vans to drive us back down to where we had been picked up in the morning.
I made it back to my apartment around 6, went out to a local pizza restaurant that was highly recommended, and then finished the night with a walk on the Sliema promenade with some gelato and views of the sea. I definitely slept well after this long day of adventure!
Hammond Adventures 