The Maltese name for the island is Għawdex (ghawdesh)

Gozo Arrival

In order to visit Gozo, starting from Valetta one has two choices:

• Take a bus to the very edge of Malta (Iċ-Ċirkewwa terminal) and then a car ferry to Mġarr. Combined price of 6.60€ one way.
• Take a direct passenger speedboat from Valetta to Mġarr. Flat rate of 7.50€ one way.

Book the second option via Gozo Highspeed. 40 minutes from Valetta to Mġarr.

Definitely choose the second option, as the bus ride is long and tedious - over an hour. The speedboat is very fast, though my head hurt a little due to the waves. The weather in december is definitely windy, there was little foam on top of the 2 meter high waves and the wind was no greater than 10 m/s. My friends who took some meteorology classes said that it was a 4 in the Beaufort scale.

Ferry ride

The car ferry is enormous and does not sway. The trip takes 25 minutes and there is both a cafeteria on board and a deck to enjoy the sea from every angle. Travelling from Malta to Gozo on the right one can see the Comino island.

Forward and on the left, after Gozo there is just sea, which eventually ends up at Africa - not very far away as the distance from Malta to Tunisia is only 300 km. The closeness is the reason for arid climate, desert-like landscapes and language influences.

Maltese Language. To welcome somebody in Maltese one can say “Merħba”, which is almost identical to the Tunisian Arabic “Marhba” (مرحبا) ~ “Marhaban”, as spelled in the most common Arabic dialect. The language influence is staggering to say the least. On the other hand, words such as “Independenza” are clearly of Latin/Italian origin. It is one of the most fascinating language mixtures I’ve ever seen. To a Polish speaker however, the pronunciation is way too guttural and throaty to feel European. Good they use latin alphabet, and perfectly know english. Otherwise it would have been a nightmare to communicate.

Take a look at the map to see the calculated shore-to-shore distances. What is not shown here - the Sicily island is only 90 km away from Malta, which pinpoints the reason for the Italian influence on Maltese culture.

Similar language influences can be seen in the southern parts of Spain, especially near Grenada - the last Muslim stronghold in the Iberian peninsula. Spanish language has many Arabic loanwords, and the architecture is also heavy influenced, with some mosques turned into cathedrals.

First Glimpse of Gozo

Taking my feet off the ferry, I realized that taking the bus to Victoria immediately would have been a mistake, as Għajnsielem is a very charming town with a wonderful view of the marina, and the beautiful church right next to it.

Take a look at the weird christmas tree made entirely of wine bottles in Ghajnsielem.

They must drink a lot, as not only the tree, but also surrounding mini-decorations and lantern posts are made of empty wine bottles.

Victoria and the Citadel

Locals can refer to the city of Victoria as Ir-Rabat (Għawdex), which is a little confusing, as the main island also has a town called Ir-Rabat. The Citadel is a fortress located in the very centre of the city, in its topmost part. On top of the Citadel one can see almost the entire island. There are no more buildings in the northern direction, providing a great view of the fields and mountain ridges.

Inside the citadel there is another church, with two important figures guarding the entrance. The one on the right is John Paul II, who was a very important figure in the history of my country of origin - Poland.

I was lucky to capture both the citadel and the mountain during the landing at MLA airport. Take a look - the city on the left has a fortress in its topmost part, and the mountain you see in the middle is the same one I photographed from the ground.

Saint George’s Basilica

After entering I was greeted by a ticket table with a kind lady and a TV screen showing the insides of the basilica. I immediately recognized that the altar from the Saint Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City was copied 1-1. Asked the lady and she confirmed it and added that there are more connections to the Vatican inside.

There were christmas packages for the people in need, below one of the side altars. They seem to treat churches as not only a place of worship, but also a community center. Makes sense in the land of narrow streets and small villages.

The Comino island

The island as seen from the car ferry is a small piece of land between Malta and Gozo. It has a few tourist attractions, however I did not visit the island, in favor of staying longer at Victoria.