Gozo
I was in Malta this summer and on everyone’s recommendation, I opted to visit the island of Gozo. This involved a one hour bus journey from where I was staying to Ċirkewwa, the northernmost point of Malta. From there you catch the ferry to Mgarr Harbour, the port on the island of Gozo. The ferry is frequent at peak times, every 45 minutes or so and takes around twenty-five minutes. Once there, the queue for the bus into the capital city of Victoria was so long I didn’t manage to get on it. Rather than wait, a taxi was a good option due to limited time.
The reason for travelling to Gozo was to visit the Citadel. The Citadel is a fortified city, which was abandoned over time. However, there is archaeological evidence that indicates that the site has been occupied since the Bronze Age. Good news is, that if you just want to walk around the citadel and take in the view from the top, it is free to do so. You only pay for entry into the museum and exhibitions if you choose to do so.
It was 33 degrees Celsius so it made getting around a little more challenging. With the heat it was like walking inside an oven at times, with the suns rays bouncing off the stonework. To say it was cooking is an understatement. The view from the top is worth the effort though, providing a panoramic view of the island. You are so high, you get the sense of the curve of the island as you look around. It is a fantastic view. Another wow moment is seeing the Cathedral of the Assumption. Truly magnificent.
There has been a great deal of restoration work in recent years and I believe it is on the tentative list to become a UNESCO World Heritage site. Despite the Citadel’s popularity, it didn’t feel crowded. It’s a big site so I never felt cramped. The town of Victoria was heaving with tourists, so it was a nice contrast.
I got the bus back to the port okay which was just under half an hour. As an aside, travelling across Malta by bus is an experience. You get to see a different side of Malta in doing so, in contrast to the tourist part in Valletta for example, which is really nice, but bears little relation to the almost ramshackle vibe of the towns and villages. Streets are narrow, and rough in places, and the speed the buses travel at is not for the faint-hearted. It’s cheap though, with a couple of euros getting you anywhere on the island.
The Fiction Factory 