Drawing back the curtains we were dismayed to find it was raining heavily and a strong wind was blowing. Not to be deterred, we kept with our original plans and caught a bus (No.221) to the Gozo ferry terminal at Cirkewwa, taking approximately 30 minutes.
During the winter months ferries depart for Gozo at 45 minute intervals and we only had a short time to wait until the 10.30 a.m. departure. No tickets for the outbound journey are required but passengers need to purchase a ticket to return to Malta, costing €4.65 each.
The car ferry took 20 minutes to reach Mgarr and from the cafeteria we bought cups of tea which were very cheap at only 50 cents each. Bus 301 is timed to meet the ferry at Mgarr and takes just 15 minutes to arrive in Gozo’s small capital city, Victoria. From here, we were able to use our 7 day Explorer Card on the bus as it is also valid on Gozo. Locals still refer to its capital as Lr Rabat although it was officially renamed Victoria to celebrate the British Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 1897.
Our first stop in Victoria was to St. George’s Basilica standing proudly at the head of a charming sandstone square. Here we explored the sumptuous church interior and its Baroque edifice before climbing the narrow, winding streets up to the very centre of the island to reach an ornate archway entrance into The Citadel.
This miniature walled city sits on a rocky cliff commanding views of most of the island (or at least it would have done, had the visibility not been so poor). A Citadel has existed here since Roman times but the current structure was built in the 17th century. The Citadel has been included on Malta’s list of tentative UNESCO World Heritage sites since 1998.
Within the walls of The Citadel we were able to visit the Baroque Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Assumption built in 1697 and the Archaeological Museum which offers free admission and focuses on the history of Gozo from pre-historic to medieval periods.
It was then time for a walk along the perimeter walls where it was so windy that it was difficult to keep the camera still to take photographs. By chance, as we were walking round at mid-day we had timed it perfectly to watch the 17th century bronze cannon being fired at noon, its sound resonating across the valley.
It was then back down the steps into Victoria and a stroll through the maze of narrow lanes admiring homes with grand wrought iron balconies on their sandstone facades and small shopfronts with quaint old English style signs above their doors. As the rain became heavier we decided to return by bus to the ferry terminal and make our way back to our hotel in Bugibba. The bus connection in Cirkewwa was again reasonably good and this took us back to our hotel just in time to enjoy afternoon tea with scones, jam and cream in Cafe Mazoc and an opportunity to dry out.
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The churches in Victoria resembles some of the ones we saw in Menton, France. Good on you for sticking with the plan despite the rain. Sometimes cloudy or wet weather actually sets the tone for a visit. Thanks for the tour Marion. Allan
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Visiting Gozo by bus and ferry was very easy and we enjoyed our wander around Victoria despite the inclement weather. Thank you for your welcome comments. Hope your weekend is going well. Marion
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Despite rainy conditions, you’ve managed to take beautiful pictures in Gozo – love the one of St George’s Basilica 💌.
And what better way to end such a rainy day than with tea, scones, jam & cream!
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It was lovely thank you.
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I’ve enjoyed your account of your experience of Malta and it’s still on my bucket list.😀
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Thanks Chevvy. I hope you get an opportunity to visit soon.
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Thank you – I hope so too! 😀
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Very brave of you to continue with your visit to Gozo given the bad weather. However, if we all waited for perfect weather we wouldn’t see very much, that’s for sure. Nice pics of Gozo. The scones would have been very welcome after such a wet and windy day out.
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Sometimes you just have to put your coat hood up and carry on, at least it was warm rain!
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Very nicely chronicled.
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Thank you for your kind words Alec, they are much appreciated.
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Always great to see something from Gozo! My wife’s friend that has semi- adopted us both is from there, and we love to see it!
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Thank you for reading and commenting on my post on Gozo. I loved our holiday in Malta and the visit to Gozo. Hopefully we will be able to return again sometime when the weather is a bit better.
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Shame about the weather! A trip to Gozo would be mandatory for me but I might have held off for the next day (and possibly more rain? 🙂 )
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Hi Jo, we did consider altering our plans to go later in the week but then thought that would only result in it being a wet day elsewhere! Thanks for reading and your ever welcome comments.
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Oh, I love to virtual travel – thanks for all the great photos and tour!!!
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Thank you so much for your kind words and for taking the time to look at my blogging g. It’s much appreciated.
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Gozo looks very beautiful with all those historic buildings and ruins. Sounds like you had a very good day despite the weather.
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Gozo was very attractive, especially Victoria and the rain was warm, unlike home so we just carried on and made the best of it, it’s just difficult keeping the raindrops off the camera lens at times!
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I’d never really considered this as a must see destination, but having read your blog and admired the lovely photos, I’m adding this to my list!
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Thank you Andrew for reading and commenting on my Maltese posts. It was our first visit but think we would definitely return as there was so much to see and do and it is very affordable.
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What a lovely day out; sounds like you saw lots and great to finish the day with the scones and jam and cream.
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Thanks Sue. I think we would return to Malta at some point for another winter break and, of course, who can resist scones for afternoon tea – calories don’t count on holidays!! M.
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Ha ha. Just laughed out loud.
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Malta on my list how many days you think it’s good enough to spend it in malta ?!
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I think a week would probably be best to be able to visit many of the island’s top sights and allow some time for relaxation. Malta is very pleasant and inexpensive compared to their parts of Southern Europe. Thank you for reading and commenting on my post.
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It’s a shame about the poor weather on your day for Gozo! The Azure Window is so much fun and you can take a boat right up to the base for a close up view. The Ggantija temples that another reader also mentioned are so worth the trip as they are 5500 years old- the oldest free-standing man-made structures in the world! I hope the weather cleared up for the rest of your trip!
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Thanks Rachel, the weather did improve but we didn’t get an opportunity on this trip to visit the Azure Window but it will be something interesting to look forward to if / when we return to Malta.
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What a shame about the weather but you still managed to see and do a lot. It looks beautiful despite the rain. Was the ferry rocky? That would have been my worry!!
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The ferry was reasonably smooth as long as you didn’t want to walk round on the ferry much but Victoria was a delightful little place.
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We did the world heritage site Gangtija temples and the Arch in Gozo… kids just hated the ferry because the seas were so choppy and it was a rainy day for us too! But loved Victoria!
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Thank you Shyami for your nice comments on my Gozo post.
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Thank you for taking us along on this adventure. More fuel to our dream of going there one day.
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Thank you for your kind thoughts. Hope you get a chance to visit Malta sometime.
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We would love it.
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The old yellow buses were much better.
The last time I went to Gozo, Rabat (Victoria) was a building site. It looks like they have tidied it up!
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Victoria looked very smart, it was just a shame the weather was poor but we still enjoyed ourselves. Thank you for your welcome comments Andrew
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Buses have numbers in Malta now? When I was there in the early 1970s, you needed to know the *colour* of the bus you wanted. (e.g. the one I used most was the Valletta-Zurrieq service, which always used yellow buses with a red stripe)
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Hi Travelrat, yes Malta must have moved with the times and do indeed have numbered routes now. A very cheap yet effective way to get around if you are not in a great hurry. Thank you for taking the time to read my posts on Malta.
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Amazing pictures 🙂
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Hank you Asif for your kind words. It’s good to read you enjoyed my post.
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It looks like the weather improved considerably for you. Thank you for sharing. Malta is a place I would like to visit one day. It is one of the last bargains in Europe I understand
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Thank you for your kind words Esther. I’m sure you would enjoy visiting Malta as it is considerably cheaper than many other parts of Europe but vey scenic.
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Lovely photos! Thanks for sharing the travels :)!
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It’s my pleasure, it’s so pleasing to read you enjoyed reading about my visit o Gozo.
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Sounds like a lovely place! The cathedral looks amazing!
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Tanks Lou for taking the time to read my post n Gozo. Although Victoria is only small, it’s such an interesting place to visit and the cathedral was stunning.
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Beautiful photos of a great place, Marion. We didn’t go to Gozo when visiting Malta, but it looks we really missed out! Have a great Sunday! Marcus
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Thank you so much Marcus for your continued support of my blog posts it means a lot and I’m certain you will get an opportunity to visit Gozo sometime in the future. Enjoy the remainder of the weekend too!
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You are so welcome, Marion. Looking so much forward to your next posts ! Have a good week! Marcus
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What a privilege to accompany you on some of your out of the normal tourist routine places you visit and receive a little of the colour of that culture at the same time.
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Thank you so much Ian for your continued praise of my blog posts. It’s always so nice to read that you have enjoyed reading them.
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