My trip to Malta and Gozo 2012 – part 2
Today I was going to see the sights of Gozo.
My auntie decided that I need to lose some weight and do more exercise. So, I went for a wee walk to the watchtower on the headland just outside Xlendi. My auntie was going to have breakfast ready for me for after my walk.
I decided on an early morning walk to the watchtower.
This tower was built in 1650 by the Grandmaster Lascaris to prevent the Turks from entering this bay.
It was a nice walk.
Restoration work began in 2011 and it is expected that the tower will be made available to the public in the near future.
The watchtower guarding over Xlendi village.
Below the watchtower was many disused salt pans.
Below the watchtower were many disused salt pans.
Gozo beaches are full of salt pans, and the production of sea salt is a major export for Gozo.
It got windy on this piece of headland and I didn’t had my hair clips with me.
I then went to the village for a wee walk along the beach.
It was nice to walk along the beach before breakfast.
It was very quiet at this time.
The local fishing boats are painted colourful.
After breakfast, I took the bus to Victoria – the capital of Gozo. A week bus pass cost twelve Euros and the concession price for cuddly toys is still twelve Euros *HUFF*.
This capital city has a population of just 6000!
First on my list was to see the Citadel or the Citadella as it is known to the locals.
The Citadel was an old small fortified town.
The Citadel is on Malta’s tentative list of future UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
Small alleyways inside the Citadel.
In 1551 a small Turkish force attacked the Citadel, which succumbed with little resistance.
Cactus grows over the walls.
Most of the buildings inside the Citadel were in ruins with cactus growing around them. The church is restored for viewing.
The narrow streets of the Citadel.
The Citadel was a little town inside the walls.
The views from the top were great and the whole of Gozo could be seen.
The view to the North-East.
The view to the East.
The view to the South across the city of Victoria.
After seeing the Citadel, I went to the park for a wee walk.
A very nice photograph that I took of perfect symmetrical trees.
I then took the bus to Xagħra to see the famous windmill and the temple.
Ta’ Kola Windmill is one of the few surviving windmills on the Maltese Islands.
Unfortunately the windmill had lost it sails earlier in the year due to high winds caused by a passing farting swan. So I am told!
Fig trees were everywhere.
The village had a lovely square for a wee cup of coffee and cakes.
The temple was a 5 minute walk away from the town.
This temple is sponsored by Vodafone “The future sounds good!”
The Megalithic Temples of Malta are a series of prehistoric monuments in Malta of which seven are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The outer wall of the temple.
The temple was 5500 years old, making them older then the Egyptian Pyramids.
Ġgantija temple was the oldest of the Megalithic Temples of Malta.
This temple is said to be 5500 years old.
The temple is in fact two temples side by side. These two temples were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980. In 1992, the UNESCO Committee further extended the existing listing to include the five other megalithic temple sites.
This is the earliest of a series of megalithic temples in Malta.
It is not known if these temples were used for sacrificing small cuddly toys or sheep.
I was impressed at this temple being older than the Egyptian Pyramids.
Unfortunately, extensive damage to the two temples had occured including graffiti on the walls.
Walkways were recently constructed over the ruins.
Fenced walkways were constructed a few years ago to prevent further damage to the temples by the masses of tourists.
This is in my opinion the best of the Megalithic Temples of Malta.
Unlike the temples on Malta island, this temple is not covered with a semi-tented roof construction.
There was lots to see.
The countryside around the two temples were great for views.
The countryside around the temple were great.
After seeing the temples, I went to the fishing village of Marsalforn.
The harbour of Marsalforn was nice for a wee walk around.
Marsalforn is on the East coast of Gozo and is busier than Xlendi.
This beach was a five minute walk from Marsalforn.
I was tired and wanted to do some sunbathing.
This beach looked great for some sunbathing.
It was mid afternoon, so I decided to relax for the rest of the day to do some sunbathing.
It was very hot here so I was able to top up my furry cotton fur tan.
Whilst I was sunbathing on the beach, a little bugger cleg decided to make lunch of my foot.
This little bugger was biting on me whilst I was sunbathing.
My auntie wanted to swat it, but I didn’t let her and instead asked her to get my camera out of the bag for a photograph.
It was a really painful bite.
It was a really painful bite but I did not cry like a baby. I was glad that I was able to get a really good photograph of the little bugger before I collapse and became unconscious.
The emergency services were called and a vet soon arrived onto the beach to see to me.
I was taken to Mater Dei Hospital, which is the biggest acute hospital on Malta. The hospital had it own specialise cuddly toy department and the emergency oncall team soon attended to my injuries.
Using their lips, the oncall team sucked out the poison from my cotton wool stuffing and sewed me up again with a needle and thread.
The consultant said that I had 5 minutes before the posion would had caused permanent damage to my foam stuffing. It was a close shave!
That night the nurses looked after me, they don’t get to see many monkeys as an inpatient.
My nurse took great care of me.
The next day I was going to continue my sightseeing around Gozo island.
To be continued….
For more information on sightseeing around Gozo please visit:
britisharmysgtmonkey 