Today we ventured to Gozo to check out Victoria, Dwejra, and Ramla Bay. We ran out of time so we are leaving Xlendi for another day. After stopping by the Mellieha market before 7am, where you buy a boatload of fresh fruit and veggies for a song, we headed for the ferry.
Our first stop was Victoria, and specifically the Citadel, a small fortified city in the middle of Victoria. It’s similar to Mdina in that it stands atop a hill, and was walled with massive bastions to protect inhabitants from attacking Ottomans and Corsairs during the 1500’s.
The cathedral inside the Citadel is known as The Cathedral Of The Assumption of The Blessed Virgin Mary. This is another ornate church with tombstones on the floor, chapels off to the side of the main section of the church, and a dome over the alter. Or, is it? The dome is actually flat but painted to appear to be 3-dimensional.
We then walked into the town of Victoria. First stop was at the first cafe we found that sold pastizzi. Cheese pastizzi. No peas. They are to die for! Come to think of it, I actually haven’t seen pastizzi with peas…I think it is now sacrilege to ruin a pastizzi with peas. The thought makes me shudder…but I digress.
Victoria is a beautiful city, and the centre of town with all of the vendors in the alleys is really cool. These alleys are full of residences, and the architecture of many of them takes you back a few hundred years.
We then headed to Dwejra. The Azure window (diagram below) was always an attraction to see. In March 2017, the land bridge fell in a storm…it had been there for, what, maybe a few million years, and 5 years ago it fell. So I expected to see the large rock on the left standing there minus it’s connection to the cliff on the right. But the massive rock on the left is gone…like, it’s not there! The only logical explanation is that without the land bridge, which must have been securing it in place, it rolled back into the sea, which must be quite deep, and the whole thing disappeared. It blew my mind.
But all was not lost, after all you’re by the sea and there are rocks and cliffs all around you…what’s not to like? The boys and I were bounding around the place, checking out various spots. I can pull up a seat and stare at the sea/ocean for hours.
Our last stop was Ramla Bay, a very nice red sand beach where I discovered I’m not adept at taking selfies. We then hiked up to the Calypso Caves next to the beach. The sight from the top was worth the climb, even if the caves were not visible. The hike up was a bit strenuous and rather dicey coming back down, but we all made it down in one piece, and headed back to Malta on the ferry.
I bet Michael misses the peas.
Views are stunning!
Nice!! Thanks for sharing!!