GOZO (Day 3)

We had signed up for an English tour to the neighboring island of Gozo but ended up on a German one. Fortunately we understood German. A large tour bus drove us across the entire island of Malta (a whole 16.8 miles) to the ferry. The water was quite choppy so we had to take the extra long way around.

Once on Gozo, another large tour bus was waiting. We piled in and drove quickly to our first sight, the Ggantija Temples. The two small, roofless temples were built using many large, thick stone slabs and are estimated to be almost 5,000 year old (hence older than Stonehenge). In the temples were several altars presumably used for animal sacrifices.

We piled back into the bus and raced off to Dwejra Point, where we were given a mere 20 minutes to view the Azure Window, a stunning rock arch stretching out into the sea. While the rest of the group passively sat below taking photographs, we literally ran to the top of the giant arch, briefly admired the view in the gusty winds, then bolted back down to the bus.

In contrast to the hectic site-seeing schedule, we got a full hour for lunch at a fancy restaurant and a good 25 minutes for shopping at several handicraft stores, including a lace store. Fortunately across the street, there was an interesting 16th century shelter built on top of a spring, used for washing clothes. A whole 3 minutes was then allotted to look out over Xlendi Bay with its lovely turquoise water.

The bus then sped through very narrow streets to Victoria, the capital. We watched a film about the history of the very small island then walked uphill to the citadel and visited the cathedral. Giant chandeliers and red velvet walls were extra holiday decorations added to the already splendid interior. The most exceptional part about this church, however, was its very tall dome... which was actually completely flat but just painted to give the illusion of height!

There was no time left to walk around the citadel, however, we were allowed a quick view from the back wall over the entire island... and also got proof that the cathedral dome was indeed flat!

We were then rushed back by ferry in the fading light of day, and a bus on Malta returned us to our hotel.

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