Continuing my spring cleaning thanks to more time at home due to the virus situation, I had a big day on Gozo and it took some time to process all those photos.
Gozo is a good day trip out of Malta's main island, although it is very possible to stay here as well. I didn't want to leave my apartment in Valletta so I set off bright and early for the ferry.
The ferry takes about half hour to reach Mgarr on the eastern end of Gozo. From there, catch a bus into Victoria, or Ir-Rabat.
The Citadel is located on a flat-top hill, and has been fortified since the Bronze Age at least. It was so large that in the mid-13th century, the island's population of 366 families could stay inside it. These are the oldest inhabited buildings on the island.
Marsalforn is a quiet fishing village / resort town on the northern end of the island with blue waters and barely anyone else.
I came for something else though. A short walk beyond are salt pans. Cut into the rock, seawater collects inside, and when the water evaporates, salt crystals are left behind and stored in rooms wedged into the cliffs.
Attractions on the west side of Gozo can be explored together as they are both on the same bus line. Ta' Pinu was built in 1920-1931 to dedicate a woman who heard the voice of Our Lady at the small chapel that once stood here. Take bus 311 from Victoria to Ixtabi. By the 1920s, the chapel was too small to handle the crowds, and a new church was built in front of the old chapel, which is still intact behind the altar.
The same bus will continue towards Dwejra, the final stop. This stretch of coastline is famous for its rocks and the Inland Sea. The Azure Window rock arch was destroyed in a storm in 2017 though.