Marsalforn (Marsalfron ~ Malta)

12 October 2022

The car ferry ride from  Malta to Gozo takes about 30 mins and seems to run pretty much constantly throughout the day. Driving to our accommodation it became quite obvious that Gozo is not quite as prosperous as Malta - roads are rougher etc...

Our Airbnb was a stone's throw from the local beach (Xwejni Bay Beach) and like most beaches round here gravely (but there ar always sunbeds and umbrellas to rent) and the water ain't that deep (but is a very nice temperature). Not a bad place to spend a bit of time.

Just past the Bay are a huge swathe of salt pans that have been used by the Cini family for the last 100+ years. Salt pans like this consist of a few reservoirs for holding salt water, lots of shallow ponds in which the salt water will evaporate from and a few raised platforms where the salt deposits can be dried before being bagged.

There aren't a lot of big sights to see in Gozo, but enough to keep up busy for a few days. One of those sights was the Basilica of Ta'Pinu. Built in the 1920s after a local woman claimed to hear Mary speak to her. It is quite amazing though as you drive around the island the sheer number of large stone Basilicas, Cathedrals and Churches you see on the skyline.

One the western side of the island is an inland sea - a lagoon that can only be accessed from the ocean via a sea cave. The passageway is large enough for small fishing boats which means this becomes a great natural and safe harbour, Plus the locals run short boat trips from the lagoon, out to the open sea along some quite dramatic cliffs and back to the lagoon.

Much like Malta Gozo has a Citadel (Il-Kastel) and next door a Rabat. The walls of the Citadel date back to the 15th century and has been under the rule of a variety of people over the years, The Ottoman Empire, Knights Hospitallers, the French and finally the Brits.

Within the walls of the Citadel is the old prison dating back about 600 years and complete with graffiti scratched into the walls by prisoners.  

With a morning to kill before we were due to head back to Malta we decided as few hours on the beach would be nice and given that there was a very strong northerly picked a place on the south coast, Mgarr ix-Xini, and took a punt that it would be ok. The road to the beach was a bit of a challenge, rutted, cut into a slope, one way with passing bays every few hundred meters and the car park at the end of the road had spots for a half a dozen cars - luckily, we were one of the early visitors. Have to say we got lucky as Mgarr ix-Xini is in a very small and sheltered cove -great place to chill.

En-route from the beach to the ferry terminal we passed through the village of Nadur, which, coincidently, is famous for Makrens Bakery and their Gozitan Ftira. Looks like pizza but it ain't. The toppings tend be white goats' cheese and potatoes with other stuff but it's the base where the big difference is - think of sour dough and you'll have a vague idea. Seriously yummy.