Looking through the Azure Window
Trip Start
Sep 12, 2006
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62
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Trip End
Sep 08, 2008
Victoria,
Malta
Saturday, September 22, 2007
I didn't really want to make a move so early, but I'd contacted someone from the Hospitality Club website who offered to pick me up at the Gozo ferry terminus if I made it there before 9am. This meant I had to make the 8.15am ferry from Cirkewwa, which surprisingly was almost an hour by bus from Valletta, despite being less than 30km away. I made it though, and enjoyed the early morning 25 minute channel crossing, offering wonderful views over the islands of Comino, Cominotto, and the Ta Cenc cliffs of Gozo.
My host, Mario, met me at the terminus and gave me a ride to his very quaint, old house in the town of Xaghra. Mario had to work at the old watchtower in Dwejra that day, so I got a ride with him to the largest town on the island, Victoria, where I would do some sightseeing before heading to the west coast to meet him at Dwejra.
Victoria, and all of Gozo it seemed, had a very different atmosphere to the cities in Malta. The island was made of a number of hills, each with a town built on top, but unlike Malta the place hadn't become one huge urban conglomeration. The small pedestrian streets of Victoria were bustling with people doing their saturday morning shopping, but still had a nice atmosphere to them. I spent a while walking around, taking some photos of the Basilica of St George before making my way up to a spectacle that could be seen from almost every corner of Gozo, Il-Kastell - The Citadel. Built in the 16th century, it was a miniature version of the ancient walled city of Mdina in Malta with one difference, that being the majority of the buildings within the walls were a pile of rubble thanks to an earthquake in 1693. However, the Cathedral of the Assumption and a number of other buildings were rebuilt, and incredbible views were offered in all directions from the fortress walls. Looking east I could make out Malta and Comino, as well as the huge church rotunda in Xewkija, with a bigger volume capacity than the Mosta Dome. The Mediterranean could be seen to the north and south, as well as the fishing village of Marsalforn. I took my time wandering around the walls, and later enjoying the tranquility of the place before it was all ruined by the bus loads of daytrippers from Malta. One moment I was sitting on the cathedral steps all alone, and the next there were as many as a hundred people looking for a spot to get a photo.
I decided it was a good time to move on and found a small outdoor cafe to get some lunch. It was then another of my cross country treks, this time through Victoria, past an old aqueduct and the towns of Gharb and San Lawrenz to the east coast area known as Dwejra. It was an interesting place here, with a number of natural attractions that kept me occupied for the best part of three hours. The first I visited was the 'Inland Sea,' a lagoon formed when a geological fault in the limestone created a sea cave after which the roof collapsed. It was a spectacular sight, spoiled somewhat by a stage setup for a 48 hour non stop tribal music festival. A guy smashing symbols while another strummed on his bass ruined the atmosphere a little, although I wasn't too keen on hanging around anyway given the number of tourists.
I made my way up the hill to the old watchtower where Mario was working, which made a nice cool change from the hot mid afternoon sun. He pointed out a few attractions in the area, being 'Fungus Rock,' an offshore island once thought to contain a fungus which could cure all illnesses, Dwejra Bay and the incredible 'Azure Window.' This was my final stop of the day, climbing the rocks surrounding the natural arch, and seeing some more prehistoric cart ruts while I was there. The setting sun gave brilliant colour to the huge sea cliffs, and I found myself having to drag myself away as it was time to leave.
Later that evening some young friends of Mario's joined us for dinner at his home. It was a good chance to wind down and chat with some Maltese people, and learn something more about the little island that had impressed me so much in just one day. The Citadel was was an impressive site, standing tall over the whole island, and the coastal scenery at Dwejra was the most spectacular I'd seen in Europe. It proved to be the calm, quiet change I was looking for.
