Postcards from Around the World

Remaining in the Mediterranean Sea, this week we are taking the ferry over from Malta to Gozo, the second largest island of the Maltese archipelago. It is a lot more rural and quieter where life seems a little slower. Β The island is only 26 square miles but packs in quite a lot.

You arrive at MΔ‘arr Harbour, with its quiet marina and church sitting on the hilltop overlooking the harbour.

We were on a day trip as it seemed the easiest way to explore the island since buses were fairly infrequent and we didn’t want the bother of hiring a car.

Azure Window before its collapse in March 2017

Our first stop was at Dwejra a small location on the West coast of the island of Gozo, known for its β€œinland sea” (small bay surrounded by high cliffs) and as the site where the Azure Window (naturally formed rock arch on the coast) could be found – we were lucky to see this, it collapsed during bad weather in March 2017.

Gozo (like Malta) is not short of churches and other religious buildings, every little village has its own church, often extremely large in comparison to the population they serve. This one is a much more modest one.

The chapel at Dwejra was the last to be built in the countryside in Gozo. It was designed by Joseph Mizzi from San Lawrenz. The chapel was blessed on 25th July 1963.

A much more imposing church is the Ta’ Pinu Basilica and Shrine (The Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of Ta’ Pinu) close to GΔ§arb, which was a centre of pilgrimage. Β The chapel remains in tact behind the altar and still contains the painting of the Assumption to Heaven of Our Lady from which the voice is said to have spoken to Karmni Grima. There is an chapel inside with some very unusual offerings and messages from people who were blessed by a miracle,

Our Lady of Ta’ Pinu was built between 1920 and 1931. In 1883 a woman from the village of GΔ§arb, Karmni Grima, heard the voice of Our Lady at the small chapel that then occupied this site.

We visited Xlendi on the coast where we had a lovely walk along a promenade towards the tower with views along the coast with its high cliffs.

All roads in Gozo lead to the capital, ir-Rabat (Victoria), and, rising above it, the fortified Citadel accessible by a steep street climbing from Independence Square. Again you get incredible views over the entire island.

Citadel
Gozo Cathedral in the Citadel

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Heyjude

I have lived in the UK for most of my life, but when young I definitely had wanderlust and even ended up living in South Africa for several years which was a wonderful experience. I now look forward to a long and leisurely retirement doing what I like most - gardening, photography, walking and travelling.

31 thoughts on “Postcards from Around the World”

  1. I love that harbourside shot with the family dangling their legs. I could just picture me sitting there. I always thought I might do a week on Malta for the culture and history and a week on Gozo to chill. Full of good ideas.

  2. Thanks for this. Gozo was just a name to me. That Azure Window is quite a piece of history. Sad it really is only history now.

    1. We were there in 1979 too. I have photos of my eldest two playing around the inland sea. Sadly so many coastal regions have been destroyed by storms and erosion.

  3. Xlendi was our base for our stay on Gozo and it was a lovely little town with some great seafood restaurants. It’s also the only place we’ve stayed which begins in X! The arch was still standing then, too, luckily. As you discovered too, it’s an island with a lot to see and do given its small size.

  6. This looks lovely! Malta is on my radar (a possible Virtual Tourist meet in 2025) so I’ll try my best to get over to Gozo too.

  7. It looks like it might be more devloped in Gozo now, from what I have seen since researching Malta. So far we are being put off, as the only airport we can see used by tour operators is Gatwick. There is nothing from Norwich, or Stansted. Gatwick is 3 hours+ hard drive from us on a good day, so that will probably make us choose a week in Turkey instead. Malta might have to be considered for a 2-week trip another time.

    Best wishes, Pete. x

    1. The distance to an airport puts us off flying. It was so much easier when we were about an hour from both Gatwick and Heathrow.

      1. When we lived in Camden, Heathrow was our first choice. We could get the Heathrow Express train from Paddington, or even a black cab to the airport was reasonable for two of us. x

        1. Newquay isn’t far away, but you have to drive there as there is no public transport. Plus limited flights. We could get to the London airports by train easily when we lived in Haslemere

  8. Perfect holiday spot, not far to wander with lots to see. Like Jo, I can see myself enjoying this location.

  9. A conducted day trip can be a convenient way of seeing a place, and this one seemed to cover all the highlights. Weather looked good too

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