We docked in the magnificent harbor of the capital, Valleta, about 08:00 on Friday July 9. The entrance into the harbor is breathtaking as you sail past the ancient fortresses at the mouth of the harbor. We docked at the Pinto dock which was a prime location, right at the foot of the city wall, easy to get to the City. The only problem is the City is at the top of the wall and the wall is 100’ – 150’ high!
I wasn’t going to tackle the City on the first day. . I was scheduled to go on a tour of Gozo, the western island. The vans left at 09:30 for the 40 minute trip across the island of Malta to the ferry. The ferry to the island took another 20 minutes. The scenery on both legs of the journey was spectacular. We drove through rolling hills of gold dotted by small towns all built of their yellow sandstone.
We were met by a bus on Gozo to continue our journey. The first stop was the ancient ruin of the Ggantija temples. These are among the ancient structures of the prehistoric residents of Gozo that are 1000 years older than the pyramids in Egypt. They are the oldest standing, human structures in the world. They are believed to be temples to the Mother goddess (Mother Nature) because the outline of the temple has the shape of the small Mother deity idols found in many primitive cultures; head, large breast and hips.
We moved on to see the capital of Gozo Victoria Rabat. This is a small, crowded city topped off by The Citadel, a castle at the top of the highest point in the city. After a laborious climb up to the Citadel, we had a more laborious one inside of it up to the tops of its walls. After the climb down and some time for shopping in the City it was off to a great lunch at one of Gozo’s finest hotels.
After lunch we heads southwest to the sea and the amazingly beautiful cliffs at a spot called the Azure Lagoon. Here we were taken by boatmen in small, colorfully painted boats through grottos gut naturally through the cliffs by the sea. Out in the open sea, we entered several other caves and saw the Azure window, a rock formation framing a fantastic view of the sea.
We headed back to the ship, arriving back exhausted from our nine hour journey. I wasn’t too tired not to want to go out and sample some of Valleta’s nightlife. Luckily, I didn’t have too far to go. Right on the pier, in the old warehouses of the docks, they have created an entertainment center with shops, restaurants and clubs. I saw many cadets and crew here who did not want to journey west to the wilder St. Julian and Placeville areas to the west of the city center of Valleta.
I wasn’t going to tackle the City on the first day. . I was scheduled to go on a tour of Gozo, the western island. The vans left at 09:30 for the 40 minute trip across the island of Malta to the ferry. The ferry to the island took another 20 minutes. The scenery on both legs of the journey was spectacular. We drove through rolling hills of gold dotted by small towns all built of their yellow sandstone.
We were met by a bus on Gozo to continue our journey. The first stop was the ancient ruin of the Ggantija temples. These are among the ancient structures of the prehistoric residents of Gozo that are 1000 years older than the pyramids in Egypt. They are the oldest standing, human structures in the world. They are believed to be temples to the Mother goddess (Mother Nature) because the outline of the temple has the shape of the small Mother deity idols found in many primitive cultures; head, large breast and hips.
We moved on to see the capital of Gozo Victoria Rabat. This is a small, crowded city topped off by The Citadel, a castle at the top of the highest point in the city. After a laborious climb up to the Citadel, we had a more laborious one inside of it up to the tops of its walls. After the climb down and some time for shopping in the City it was off to a great lunch at one of Gozo’s finest hotels.
After lunch we heads southwest to the sea and the amazingly beautiful cliffs at a spot called the Azure Lagoon. Here we were taken by boatmen in small, colorfully painted boats through grottos gut naturally through the cliffs by the sea. Out in the open sea, we entered several other caves and saw the Azure window, a rock formation framing a fantastic view of the sea.
We headed back to the ship, arriving back exhausted from our nine hour journey. I wasn’t too tired not to want to go out and sample some of Valleta’s nightlife. Luckily, I didn’t have too far to go. Right on the pier, in the old warehouses of the docks, they have created an entertainment center with shops, restaurants and clubs. I saw many cadets and crew here who did not want to journey west to the wilder St. Julian and Placeville areas to the west of the city center of Valleta.
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