Gozo, the island of honey stone, is the second largest Maltese island and the only one
other than Malta to be significantly inhabited (the population of the third island, Comino, can
be counted on one hand). It is a very pretty place and great to go and relax in, and in spite of
its small size, there is a lot to see.
I spent the night in a hotel in the tiny village of Xlendi, and felt very refreshed after my stay.
I had a car the whole time I was there, although I'd heard the bus services are very good I couldn't
possibly have reached all the places I went to without a car.
The Azure Window must certainly be one of the most famous attractions on the island.
It was difficult to get a photo without crowds of tourists in it! It's possible to walk across
the bridge, but not recommended so I gave it a miss.
The Inland Sea is next door to the Azure Window, conveniently, and comes through a small
cave in the cliff wall to flood a little section of the interior of the island.
Like sunglass and baseball cap-clad penguins, tourists scatter the rocks opposite the
Azure Window with Fungus Rock in the background.
Huge cliffs line much of the coast of Gozo, these are at Xlendi.
At the harbour at Xlendi there are little coves like this which make the perfect mooring
spot for your boat.
This area of the coast was very surreal to walk around, the solid rock appeared once to have
been liquid, or perhaps the sea had been carving it away some time ago, to leave these strange
formations. It felt a bit like I should be under the sea walking around here.
The tower at Xlendi, one of the series of towers which ring the Maltese islands.
More honey stone formations give an alien appearance to parts of Gozo.
Salt evaporating pans at Marsalforn on the Gozitan north coast, there are a few sets of
these around the coast, including at Xlendi.
In Victoria (or Rabat) the Gozitan capital, the citadel dominates the town.
Within the citadel walls what once were living areas now appear to be farming plots, separated
by drystane dykes.
The village of Xlendi where I stayed the night, at the St Patrick's Hotel (the one with the
black balconies). The hotel was four stars, really nice and made all the better by the fact that it
cost less than 15 pounds per night, including breakfast.
Xlendi is the essence of rustic charm, it was warm, peaceful, very scenic and generally just
great.
There is still much British influence in Malta, for example they drive on the correct side of
the road (the left, as well they should) and there are a few of the old-style phone boxes going
around as well.
The windmill in Xaghra, not in old Amsterdam, as one might expect...
Looking back towards Gozo past Comino on the boat on the way back to the Maltese mainland.
Gozo and Malta are linked by a half-hour ferry journey, which runs more or less every
forty five minutes and was very cheap even to take a car. My Gozitan experience was really chilled out
and I would go back in a second.
