Travel Blog: Travelling Malta (Part I - Gozo)

I started this blog in lockdown so naturally I have never written about travel. I wrote exclusively about what mattered to me in the last year and a bit, processing what the hell was going on, reading and - sometimes - navigating the impact everything was having on my own mental health. Now, as the world changes yet again, I find myself wondering what this blog should be for. On one hand, I have way less time to write on it, as may be evident from my more sporadic posting pattern. On the other, my life is opening up and evolving and it might be nice to document parts of it that I think are suitable for public consumption - either for entertainment purposes or as a voice possibly trying to articulate something you might personally be going though or thinking about. So, as I wandered around Malta on my first trip abroad with my husband since our honeymoon at the end of 2019, it occurred to me to jot down the experience to share it with you, in case you’re wondering what travelling might be like nowadays.

I didn’t actually think I would go abroad this year, and had all sorts of convoluted feelings about doing so but, as is evident, wanderlust won out. We decided on Malta after a painfully long decision process in which our excitement at planning a trip was challenged somewhat by the panic-inducing amount of choice suddenly on offer. We could go almost anywhere! Of course there are still some restrictions, but rather than cut down our options, they simply further complicated the situation. Yes, we wanted winter sun, but actually we weren’t keen on the idea of a long flight with a mask pressed tightly against our faces for the majority of the time. We could combine the trip with some work if we headed towards the USA but they wouldn’t let us in until November 8th, by which time we’d be needed back home. Somewhere along the process of meandering through a list of pros and cons regarding weather forecasts, learning to ski and avoiding half term monsters, we landed on Malta. Not a long journey, fairly affordable, low Covid rates (first country to reach herd immunity appaz) and the possibility (though not the promise) of Winter sunshine. With COP26 coming up, we initially planned a non-fly journey which transported us through France and Italy using trains, boats and, excitingly, a trainboat. It did however surface that Covid rules made this a riskier and much more complicated option, and booking last minute also made it very expensive. So yes, we flew. I’m still trying to work out my plan of action going forward in terms of plane travel. I don’t travel loads but between my husband often working abroad and having close friends in different countries, it does seem that simply not flying isn’t necessarily the most practical route forward. Thought train (plane?) to be continued…

It was just as well that Malta didn’t make any wild claims about its weather because it 100% would not have delivered during our first four days. For those that don’t know, Malta is made up of three islands. There’s the mainland (Malta), Gozo to the North and an almost uninhabited smaller island in between (Comino). I got the vibe that people often just stay on the mainland and do day trips to Gozo, but since we had ten days at our disposal we decided to stay on the island for the first four nights. When we have enough time we split our stays between different hotels because my husband loves bigger hotels with pools and gyms while I prefer small, unique hotels that are smack bang in the middle of your destination since I have an aggressive need to tick off an itinerary when I travel. In Gozo we went for the former and stayed at the Kempinski which is an incredibly beautifully building, and quite a fancy resort (ooh-la-la), in the Gozitan countryside. Our room was about the size of a small apartment and had a huge balcony overlooking the outdoor pools that we immediately imagined curling up on with a book and a glass of wine. Unfortunately the weather was so atrocious that we could hardly use the outside space and the hotel’s website hadn’t mentioned that much of their indoor facilities were still closed due to Covid and that the indoor pool, though open, had quite limited capacity. Naturally it was a bit shit to be in such a perfect place and unable to make the most of it but, as the staff were all extremely lovely, we still had a great time and would be keen to return when the sun’s out and things are a bit more open.

The grounds of the Kempinski

Covid-wise it’s worth mentioning that in general it felt quite well managed in Malta. It’s difficult to really be certain whether a country is getting it right because things change - remember when we were all saying Sweden was the GOAT? - but it felt somehow simultaneously like there were slightly more stringent rules than in the UK and that everyday life actually felt much more normal. Masks were worn indoors, shops required them for entry, buses refused passengers without them (as we discovered when our Irish taxi driver Philomena had to go and collect her son from a bus stop) and when we went to the theatre there was none of this ‘pop your mask on unless you’re having a drink/snack’ nonsense. I’m not saying everything was consistent, when we later went to Paceville in St Julians it appeared that either no-one had heard of Covid or were trying very enthusiastically to spread it, while at an outdoor market in Valetta you couldn’t even pick up your own fruit at an outdoor stall! While you should absolutely do what makes you feel comfortable, and check travel advice as and when you go abroad, Malta felt like a real escape from some of the weirdness we’d felt over the last year and a half in the UK and for that I’d recommend it as an excellent holiday destination right now.

I appreciate that this piece has become a bit like one of those food blogs where you have to wade through a bunch of nonsense about road trips and Autumn leaves until you get to the pumpkin soup recipe, so without further hesitation I’ll actually talk about Gozo itself. Gozo, we were told, is where a lot of Maltese people have holiday homes. It’s a short ferry ride from the mainland but has quite a different feel - it’s much less built up, lots of countryside, many churches to visit, loads of beaches and it’s pretty sleepy. The taxi driver who picked us up from the airport on arrival kept warning us that it was very quiet and he was absolutely correct, in fact it was even quieter than usual - apparently people with homes on Gozo aren’t interested in heading out when the weather is terrible. Even in the main town of Victoria the streets were almost deserted when we left a restaurant at just 10pm. If you’re looking for peace and quiet, Gozo is definitely for you! We did a ton of walking while we were there. Without a car the only options are hourly buses or taxis (use the Bolt app), and the rural nature of much of the island means you are often waiting quite a long time for one, so we utilised our feet. It was actually really lovely and gave us an opportunity to take in the landscape around us. There are so many little nods to Roman Catholicism, little shrines to Saints in wall alcoves, churches scattered across the horizon, crosses glinting in the sunshine. We passed buildings in states of disrepair, old crumbling guest houses and abandoned restaurants at the side of the road - all a little eerie. Everywhere we walked there were cacti heavy with pink and yellow spiky fruits, some already fallen and trampled into the stones beneath our feet. A google told us these were prickly pears which we later tried (lots of big seeds but a nice flavour!). There are so many existing ruins in Gozo - from the megalithic Ggantija temples that precede Stonehenge and the Pyramids, to the city gates with arches so tiny even I, a petite acorn, had to bend to walk through.

On our first day we had a slow morning in the hotel before walking to the capital city of Victoria in the afternoon and wandering around checking out the little shops and cafes. We discovered the Villa Rundle landscaped gardens which are just behind the shopping centre. The gardens were planted in 1915 by the British General Leslie Rundle and were full of gorgeous plants, a fountain with a bridge, sculptures and a small amphitheatre which would be lovely for outdoor performances in the summer. The air was so full of birdsong that I even started looking to see if there were hidden speakers piping it through! Our plan after that was to continue the walk all the way to the harbour but a sudden rainstorm put paid to that and we leapt into a taxi. However, moments before that happened my husband spotted a small windmill and, as we popped our heads round for a closer look, a friendly man in a side office offered us a free tour. He took us right to the top of the mill, explaining how it had been restored, how everything worked and even where the woman of the house would have typically given birth - FYI it’s up an extremely difficult to navigate spiral staircase and the man seemed surprised as my concern for said long-deceased pregnant woman. Finally we arrived in Mġarr harbour and had dinner at One80 Kitchen, a lovely restaurant right on the water with plentiful vegetarian options (we were soon to discovered this wasn’t always the case in Malta) and excellent wine.

Now seems a good time to tell you that wine made up a big part of our trip. We had no idea that Malta made so much great wine, much of which they don’t export, so we were very focused in ensuring we sampled as much as possible. Food is an extremely important aspect of travelling for me and the real culinary highlights in Malta are the local olive oil, flaky Gozitan salt and fresh bread. Pescatarians will be delighted to hear that they have tons of fresh fish and carnivores should try what appears to be the local speciality: rabbit stew. For veggies expect a lot of pasta and pizza (very near Italy) and vegetable soup with goat or sheep’s cheese. I’ve heard tell of vegans who have survived in Malta but we struggled to find any cheese free meal. My favourite meal in Gozo was probably a very simple one at Il Panzier, a tiny outdoor restaurant we went to to celebrate our second wedding anniversary. The only waiter was the owner, a superbly eccentric Sicilian man, and who we think was perhaps his wife who gestured loudly and wildly from the kitchen as she whipped up delicious food for every table. I ate grilled, lemony asparagus followed by creamy pistachio rigatoni and every mouthful was a delight. On our final night we headed to Qbajjar Restaurant in the fishing village of Malsaforn and finally found where the action was. The restaurant was chock full of couples and families, there was even a wedding happening in a slightly sectioned off area! We ate fried brie with blueberry sauce and mushroom panzerotti, little calzone shaped parcels of pasta, topped with salted aged ricotta. It was sadly too dark to see the ocean unless we squinted but it was lovely to hear the waves gently hitting the harbour edge.

I had a full list of ‘touristy’ stuff to do in Gozo. I wanted to go and see the Xwejni salt pans and the Ggantja Temples and sail to the Blue Lagoon. For reasons of weather and relaxation a lot of that didn’t happen this time around, though it gives me a reason to head back asap. We did however do two trips that I’d thoroughly recommend. First we headed to the Cittadella in Victoria. The Cittadella has a fascinating history which is almost impossible to encapsulate here. Gozo, which used to be independent of Malta, was a Roman municipality and the Cittadella was the administrative, military and religious centre. In the Turkish raids on Gozo in 1551, the entire island sheltered in the Cittadella until, sadly, the walls were overwhelmed and almost the whole population were taken into slavery. Nowadays only a couple of families live there and much of it is still crumbling. Other parts have been beautifully restored and small shops and museums are dotted along the narrow alleyways. We went to the prison museum which was small but interesting, then climbed as high as possible for incredible views over the island.

On our final day in Gozo the sun came out and we lay fully dressed on sun loungers with our bags already packed, mulling over whether to cancel our day trip to Ta Mena and just whip out our swimsuits. Resisting temptation we headed to the family run farm in Xaghra where the founder’s Granddaughter Maria talked us through the history and growth of the farm, told us a little about her relatives (we met her mother and saw her aunt drive by with olives). We walked up the winding dirt path and Maria showed us how their olive oil is made before serving us a platter of their homegrown and homemade foods (fresh and sundried tomatoes, a thick tomato paste, local sheep’s cheese and meats, olive oil and bread) along with a tasting of four of their wines. There was something so lovely about Maria’s fun personality, the family being all around and simply being in such a beautiful, plant filled location with views across the island. Even as we were paying Maria’s hilarious mum for bottles of olive oil in their tiny shop we were planning our return trip.

I’ll leave you with one final warning if you do travel between Gozo and Malta. It’s about the fast ferry. It’s very tempting as it gets you right into the centre of Valetta rather than travelling to Ċirkewwa and then having to drive for quite a while. But it is so rocky. If you get easily seasick you might genuinely prefer the longer route. Our heads were spinning as we disembarked and we felt totally disorientated. I mean, if you like rollercoasters it might be for you!