Malta.Gozo

  The island of Gozo attracts with its beautiful landscapes of rocky cliffs, where the waters of the Mediterranean Sea crash... There are also many churches here, and in the administrative center of the island, the town of Victoria, there is a fortress. We spent two days on this island, visiting several picturesque natural spots and also seeing the island's architecture...

 Map of visited places...

  On the island of Gozo, over 30,000 inhabitants live, significantly less than on the island of Malta, where the population is about 500,000 people... Between the islands, a ferry runs around the clock, departing on average every hour, and a round-trip ticket costs 4.65 euros...

   Port of the island of Gozo...

   From the port, after exiting the terminal, we took a bus to the town of Victoria, where we immediately transferred to another bus to the coast... We headed to the picturesque place Ta Cenc Cliffs. To easily navigate buses in Malta, we used the Tallinja app, which helped us know when and where to transfer to the necessary bus, and how to plan the route... You only need internet access. A bus ticket costs 1.5 euros, allowing unlimited transfers within two hours, and payment is possible directly on the bus by card or cash, although the driver does not give change when paying with cash... The best option is to buy a special weekly card at the bus station and travel around the islands without limits... Having reached the necessary stop, we walked towards the coast... The road from the bus stop led uphill, offering a view of the entire town of Victoria and its main attraction - the fortress...

  Also, from the hill, the town of Xewkija and its Rotunda - the Church of St. John - were clearly visible...

 Near the coast, there were thickets of cacti... There are many cacti in Malta, and a local liqueur is made from their fruits...

  Maltese shells...

 Reaching Ta Cenc Cliffs, we were presented with panoramas of rocky cliffs towering majestically over the sea...    

 Continuing along the path along the coast, new landscapes of the island opened up to us every time...

   The place Snap Cliffs was one of the most impressive...

  Walking along the trail by the high cliffs was very thrilling, with a sense of the power of nature...

  Finishing the small route in Xlendi Bay, we took a bus back to Victoria... Settling in the hostel, we went to another part of the island... Here we also wanted to take a small route along the picturesque part of the coast... Reaching Wied il-Għasri, we descended into a small canyon, where the sea water, due to strong winds and a rough sea, was muddy... But in favorable conditions, the water is clear and it is very pleasant to swim in this place... 

   Continuing further along the marked trail, we reached a stone arch... The place called Wied iI-Mielaħ...

  Lastly, we visited the Ta' Pinu church...

  The next day, we went for a walk around the town of Victoria...    

 In the morning, it was drizzling, so we spent more time in tourist shops and also visited the St. George's Basilica...

  

   At noon, the weather changed dramatically, the clouds completely cleared, and the sun shone above us... So we headed to the fortress...

 From the fortress walls, a panorama of the town of Victoria opens up...

  In the fortress, on its main square, stands the Assumption Cathedral, built back in 1711... 

  It's interesting to walk through the narrow old streets...

 And below, an orange grove grows...

  After snacking on traditional pastries, Pastizzi, and delicious Gelato ice cream, we took a bus to the eastern part of the island, to the small town of Għajnsielem...

   Parish church of Għajnsielem... 

   Old Parish church of Għajnsielem...

  At the end of November, sunset is around 4:30 PM, so we had to hurry to catch the bus to the beautiful Dwejra Bay...

  

 "Seeing off the sun," we made ourselves comfortable among the rocks on the coast and tasted the traditional Maltese liqueur made from cactus fruits, which we encountered so often along the way...

  

  Waiting for the bus to return to the city, we visited a place that was until recently the main attraction of the island of Gozo - the Azure Window... This was the name of the rocky arch that collapsed along with its support in 2017 due to strong waves... It was like this...

  And now it is like this...

  Returning to the city, we strolled a bit through its evening streets...

 So ended our adventures on the island of Gozo... The next morning, we were heading to the island of Malta, where we planned to stay overnight and, on the last day of the trip, before the flight, visit the ancient town of Mdina... Summarizing our journey, we can say that despite the unfavorable weather at the end of November, we still managed to have a good time and visit most of the places we planned... A big plus was the lack of heat, the small number of tourists, and the low prices in hotels in the extremely touristy Malta, and the downside was, of course, the weather, especially the strong winds and downpours... But that's the way it is...