I recently spent a long weekend in Malta. Gozo, an island off the northern coast of Malta, is about twenty-five minutes away by ferry. A much smaller island, Comino, sits in between Malta and Gozo, and this island is famous for its Blue Lagoon. Although the ferry does not go too close to this island, you can see flashes of bright blue water on the way to Gozo. Gozo is beautiful and more relaxed than Malta, and spending a day on the island is quite easy. Gozo has a sandy beach, many caverns and sea caves with rock formations, excellent views, and quiet towns.
The only way to get to Gozo is by ferry, and there are plenty of these each day. It's an interesting journey because the islands are so close together, and it's a short trip. After arriving on the island, we were offered a journey by a taxi driver to see the popular areas in Gozo, and this allowed us to see the island on the short time we had. We visited the wonderful rock formations, including the Azure Window, which is one of the highlights. We also visited the capitol of Gozo, Victoria (named after the queen), and saw excellent views from the citadel. The whole island is virtually visible from Victoria's citadel. Afterwards, we visited Marsalforn Bay and village; we had dinner here (fresh fish) before continuing on past the temple ruins and taking in the view of Ramla Bay from Calypso's Cave.
We took the ferry from Malta to Gozo, glimpsing the Blue Lagoon in between the rocks surrounding it. We had a windy journey, but it was nice to feel the sun. I stayed up on the top deck and too photographs and enjoyed the sun. It was a slight chilly with the breeze.
I liked the colours of the ropes on the ferry and the ferry itself. I watched the men sort the ferry out for sailing into the Mediterranean.
The taxi driver passed several small villages, and I snapped this photograph of a flower shop in one of the villages. I love the different sizes and shapes of the plants on display.
Malta's and Gozo's buildings are built from golden stone. Victoria, Gozo's capitol city, boasts many quirky and winding alleyways and side-streets with stone stairs leading up to and around the citadel. I love the texture and colour of the stone, and colourful flowers are a nice touch.
We stopped at the "Azure Window" to snap some photographs. You can get an idea of the scale of the rock formation by looking up at the couple stood on top of the stone. The water here is beautiful (it's so blue), and you can also get a ride in a small boat. (Boats were not operating when we arrived due to windy conditions, but they apparently stop at sea caves. The boats can be obtained a few yards from the "Azure Window" at another formation, known as "The Inland Sea".)
The photograph below shows the extent of the formation, with a small figure on top. This is an impressive structure.
The citadel walls are also made of golden stone, and some of the stones have been weathered. This makes an interesting texture, which reminded me of a sponge.
Malta and Gozo are filled with many different species of flowers, and there were many of these yellow flowers in the citadel at Victoria.
Miles of beautiful blue sea fill the horizon. I captured this photograph from Calypso's Cave. There are amazing views from here of the sea and of the island's only sandy beach. Unfortunately, the cave is shut to visitors because it's not safe; it partially collapsed. For those who do not know the story behind the cave, read Homer's tale, "The Odyssey".
We had a delicious meal in Marsalforn. The restaurant was literally on the seafront, and our table was a yard from the edge of the water. The views out to sea are amazing here, and we got there just after the lunch rush, so we had the restaurant pretty much to ourselves, despite a couple of cute cats that came to visit us. I had the chicken dish, but you could pick out your own fresh fish before it's cooked.
Tiled building names are common, and I appreciated the decoration and embellishment of the following one.
Many of the clocks looked similar, and street lamps are also a common sight. I love the golden stone architecture.
Another winding street, climbing up to the citadel, and it is very romantic.
Christianity and religion is an important aspect in the lives o the inhabitants of Malta. (There's always a spire of a church to be seen, and building names always have some relevance to Christianity. Many also have depictions of religious figures, such as Mary.) The following building name is more modern.
Traditional Maltese boat colours are bright. The following boat is named after the small island, famous for its Blue Lagoon.
We took a trip on a private boat across from Gozo, via Comino, back Malta's mainland. The Blue Lagoon is stunning and clear, and the sea caves around Comino are impressive with turquoise-blue waters. Blue Lagoon was not too busy when we passed by, but it was early evening, and late April is slightly outside the prime tourist season.
Our private boat tour passes a sailboat that looks about like it is ready to flip. The wind was so strong; I am sure that it takes much talent to operate these sailboats in such windy conditions.
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