Gozo, Where Malta Goes to Grow

Today, I took an all-day cruise to Malta's second-largest island of Gozo. An Oasis tour van picked up about 10 guests at local hotels, then drove us across the island to the ferry terminal at Cirkewwa. The ferry costs Lm2.oo, or about $6.75 for a round trip. Twenty minutes later, we arrived at the cute ferry terminal on Gozo, where another Oasis mini-van picked up and drove us to the major visitor stops on the island.

The church of Ta' Pinu was first - Our Lady is credited with many miracles, and the church has a room filled with testimonials; also, the Pope visited the church, and another room is devoted to photographs of that occasion. The driver pointed out the 14 stations of the cross carved up a hilside on the road just before the basilica.

Next, we visited the megalithic temple of Ggantija, said to have been built by some super-race of giant women. It is the best-preserved of the megaliths, and is said to be a thousand years older than the pyramids of Egypt.

Fontana, named for its central fountain where women still go on weekdays to wash their clothes, also contains a shop where local artisans sell their handiwork. There is knitting, crochet, lace, pottery, and other local crafts for visitors to buy - at very reasonable prices.

Next, the Citadel, at the top of the island. From the walls of the Citadel, one can get an almost 360-degree view of Gozo. The streets are steep, but the panoramic view and the cool breeze at the top are definitely worth the hike.

I won't go into all the other places we visited - you can explore the Malta web site for additional information. Gozo is green. It is agricultural, and produces about 60% of the produce consumed in Malta. Driving around, there are many terraces set off by the limestone rocks, so it looks like its main crop is rocks - but I'm told this is not so. Gozo also boasts the best SCUBA site in Malta, near the Azure Window in Dwejra. I took LOTS of photos - use the photo-montage in the sidebar to go to the collection.