Day 106 : Gozo Island

It's a cloudier day today, as I left the hotel at 9.30am and headed straight to the ferry terminal. I was told to avoid going to Gozo on the weekends, as the ferry waiting time could take about 1hr, but I hardly had to wait and managed to get on the 1st ferry that was scheduled for departure at about 10am.

There were lots of people on the ferry though, and the ride took about 20 mins. Everything was very efficiently done.

We arrived at the ferry terminal in Gozo at 10.20am and I made my way towards Dahlet Quorrot, with a couple of viewpoint stops on the way.

Dahlet Quorrot is about 15 mins away from the ferry terminal and is supposed to be the start of a walking trail along the cliffs. 

I was attracted by the colourful doors to the storage that was built into the cliffs, and then slowly took the trail up the cliffs, and was pleasantly surprised by the view of the wild flowers all around.

I probably walked about 15 mins of the trail and then returned to the car and headed to the next destination - Ramla Bay.

A beach with a wide sandy area, this is probably the nicer beach I had seen in Malta thus far. There was the option to climb up the trails but I was lazy and also because I was not properly parked and didn't want to get into trouble.

So after staying for about 10 mins, I continued my way. I was starting to feel hungry and headed to the town of Marsalforn. It's a lot smaller than I expected, with low rise buildings built along the water.

There were numerous restaurants set alongside the water to choose from and I decided on Kohinoor, mainly because the staff was approachable when I arrived.

I managed to get a table by the water which was really nice. I ordered a pizza with pepperoni, mushroom and egg.
The food took a while to be served, and I took the opportunity to enjoy the view while I waited. It also started getting crowded while I was there.

I was expecting an egg that they crack in the centre and just slightly cooked but turns out it was sliced hard boiled egg. Pizza was average though I quite like the crust bit.

The Salt Pans were located less than 10 mins drive from Marsalforn.

There's no harvesting now as its weather critical, with hot sunny days being perfect weather for salt harvesting.

Salt is harvested once a week, roughly between the summer months of mid-May up till the beginning of September, if the weather permits.

Stormy and rainy days disrupt the salt process and no salt is collected. After every harvest, each salt pan is manually and individually filled with water through the use of a motor pump from the big pools to the small pans, then they are left to dry for about 7 days and the salt crystals start to form.

Due to the water being already highly concentrated in the big pools, the salt process happens much quicker resulting in a fresh collection every week. 

Next stop, Wied il-Għasri, a sea canyon. The drive required navigating through a narrow path as I got closer to the destination. 

I didn't stay long, and made my way over to Wied Il-Mielaħ (window in rocks), which was another 15 mins away.

I then took a quick pit stop to Basilica of the National Shrine of the Blessed Virgin of Ta' Pinu. This is a huge church, with 4 panels of images made out of mosaic located on the outside.

Azure Window
It's supposed to have a window similar to Wied Il-Mielaħ. 

But it had collapsed over time. This however is probably one of the best cliff top views on the island

Inland Sea Dive Site

Linked to the sea through an impressive canyon stretching almost 80 metres in length.

The walls on both sides of the rock arch are deep, vertical and overhanging for most of the way.

Final sightseeing stop for today is the Citadel in Victoria. Instead of driving, I parked the car outside of the hostel and took a walk to explore the Citadel. 

Passed by the Town Square and the Conventual Church of St Francis of Assisi (Knisja ta' San Franġisk) on the way, and popped in to have a quick look. 

Continuing on to the Citadel, the main feature appears to be the church.

It was also turning dark as I walk through the Citadel, and noted everything was also closed. And so I headed off to take a look at Victoria and also to find dinner.

There was a constant queue at this food truck, so I went to check it out. They were selling local pastries, namely Pastizzi, Qassatat, Sausage Rolls, Pizza, Gozitan Ftira.

I love Pastizzi, so had to get them.
1 in cheese and 1 in mashed peas.
I don't know how they make the crust so crispy, it's addictive!

This was cheap €0.40 each

I wasn't feeling hungry, so this 2 became my dinner.

And the Qassatat Cheese will be my breakfast for tomorrow.