On 2nd April 1951 my aunt was about to give birth to her first child. Richard was born the following day. On Gozo in Malta the Queen, then Princess Elizabeth, was doing a spot of sightseeing. She visited The Lace House and saw a demonstration of traditional lace-making.
We followed in her footsteps on a walk along the cliff tops. There are salt pans hewn out of rock used to collect salt water that evaporates; also hides for bird watching although the spent cartridge cases around them betrayed their real purpose. There is a profusion of wild flowers, it was sunny and about 18 C. At noon we came to a hotel in the middle of the countryside and stopped for Aperol Spritz, reaching a village on a bay in time for a late lunch outdoors on the seaside.
I had my first bottle of Maltese wine – a rosé – and spaghetti with tomatoes, sardines, garlic and chilli. We took two buses to get back to base which were punctual and cheap. It costs Euros 21 for a seven day travel pass. Gozo has a lot going for it.
It would be great if you were as prolific as anything on Gozo, etc. My wife and I have been tempted to go for years. The more of your sense of it we get, the better.
We are on an Inntravel package aptly called Glorious Gozo. We ae provided with maps, walking notes and a seven day bus pass. There are plenty of churches and watch-towers to visit but it works well seeing them as part of a walk.
I well remember our only visit to Gozo in April 1998 when like you we walked around the cliff tops, in our case from Sannat to Xlendi, a beautiful village, where we stayed at St. Patrick’s hotel. As Edward Lear put it ” Its coast scenery may truly be called pomskizillious and gromphibberous, being as no words can describe its magnificence”. Enjoy the rest of your time there.
We walked from the ferry port at Mgarr via Sannat to Xlendi, where we had lunch at a restaurant beside St Patrick’s Hotel. It is about 14 km and took about four hours.