6 February 2008             

Post #24: Trip to Gozo
 

Malta is an archipelago, made up of a number of islands, including a large, inhabited one just to the north, called Gozo.  An excerpt out of Wikipedia on Gozo:  A popular nickname of Gozo is the Isle of Calypso, derived from the location of Ogygia in Greek mythological poem Homer's Odyssey. 

The island itself has a population of around 31,000 people (all of Malta combined has 402,000), and its inhabitants are known as Gozitans. It is rich in historical locations such as the Ġgantija temples, which are the world's oldest free-standing structures, as well as the world's oldest religious structures.
 

For the Gibbs family, the island was, in some ways, a stark contrast to what they've seen on Malta.  The streets were extremely clean and tidy, though still as narrow as the Maltese roads.  There were very few people about on this Wednesday afternoon.

The ferry ride from Cirkewwa,  Malta, took only about 15-20 minutes.  As we waited for the boat to take off, Dave unpacked the picnic lunch and cut up apples for our hungry troops.  Once the boat turned out of the port, a strong breeze swept through the deck sending our pile of napkins away.  We had stuffed them in a backpack, expecting the wind, but it was strong enough to blast them even out of the pack!  Would have helped to zip it closed.

On the trip across, DeDe took a number of pictures of the island of Comino and the sea beyond.  Shirley and Bill went inside to the cafeteria, to sit out of the wind, and the kids followed them. 

When we arrived at Gozo, we piled into the little Peugeot, and began our self-guided tour of the island.  You're wondering how we fit ten people in a little four-door hatchback?  Grandpa in the co-pilot seat, Dave was driver, Grandma was in the backseat, with David and Nathan between her and DeDe who had Bobby in a front-carrier pack.  Having removed the cover over the hatchback/trunk, three big kids sat facing the rear, with their backs to the back of the back seat.  It wasn't terribly safe, and it was a great day to practice the Biblical model of praying ceaselessly! 

From Mgarr Harbor, the only direction one can venture is uphill!  We went directly toward the capitol city of Victoria, as that would allow us to get our bearings and to decide which direction to tour first.

We enjoyed the hills and views, saw many ornate churches, and then found a quaint little village, on the sea, Marsalforn, where we stopped to have a real lunch.  Dave made sandwiches for the boys, while Bill, Shirley and DeDe went into a restaurant to order something more substantial.  The boys enjoyed throwing bread crumbs to the fish they spotted in the water at the pier that was near the parking lot.

After a short while, the boys and Dave joined us in the restaurant and we enjoyed some Funghi (mushroom) pizza, some chips (French fries) and Bill and Shirley had some tasty roast chicken.  It was a delicious lunch and since it was so late in the day, we decided we'd not have to have much of a dinner.

After the meal, we ventured along the shoreline on a rather rough road to a high point near the northern part of the island.  The view from the crest of that hill was spectacular.  The photos in the web album simply will not do justice to the vantage point, the steep inclines of hills, and the scope of what the eye could see.  It was truly a storybook view!

We decided to find our way to the “Lighthouse” on the highest point of the island, and see what kind of view we'd find there.  From where we were, on a ridge at the top of the hill out of Marsalforn, we could see the lighthouse.  The road to it could also be seen across a valley.  After some searching, we found a road that would take us down and across that valley to the lighthouse road. 

Now, when we tell you the roads here are narrow, single-track paths, you really had better believe it!  This road felt more like a garden path, hardly wide enough for a wheelbarrow!  It also had a grade that was nearly vertical at the start!  Surely, the photos will not be able to capture for you the steep decline we passed to get to the other side of the valley! 

The view from the lighthouse was also quite expansive.  You could see most of the island from there.  At the top of almost every highpoint in the distance stands a grandiose church with steeples glimmering in the afternoon sun.  Wonder how the apostle, Paul, would feel seeing the fruit of his labors here in the form of so many stone temples. 

This reminds DeDe of one of the first Maltese men she spoke to on a bus ride.  He said, “The Maltese are not rich people.”  Then he held a fist to his heart and added, “But we are rich in here.”  Every bus also has a bumper sticker posted up front that says, “Make Christ the centre of your life and have eternal life in heaven.”  Truly, this Catholic nation has shown that many of them adhere to the first and greatest commandment:  To love God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength, and to love thy neighbor as thyself.

It was Ash Wednesday, and we concluded our tour of Gozo with a stop at Ta' Pina, a large church...and folks were pulling in to the church to go in to receive their ashes.  It is a Catholic tradition to begin the Lenten season of repentance with a prayerful reminder that we are but ashes and dust without the Spirit of the Lord. 

There are other sights to be seen on Gozo, so we'll have to return.  Seems that, with this large group of young children, every tour takes us twice as much time as it might otherwise.  It's a really good thing we have three months here!

 Send us an email about this post!  dgibbs at uwsp dot edu  or  dedegibbs at gmail dot com