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It was off to Malta's sister island of Gozo today. First up though it was off to the supermarket to grab some supplies. After getting back I cooked a nice breakfast of bacon and eggs to get the day started in style and then we were off.
It took us a while but we eventually found the right bus stop and boarded to head down to catch the ferry over. On arriving we couldn't find a bus or taxi to get us to Victoria, the main town. So off we trudged and walked 3/4 of the island to get there. Approx 6 or 7 k's. Not that it mattered as we needed some decent exercise.
After a couple of hours we arrived and settled in to McDonalds for a feed as there wasn't much open. After some lunch we wandered up to the citadel which towers over the island. It was another walled fort in the same guise as M'dina. The views were absolutely amazing over Gozo. We could see many of the landmarks that we would unfortunately not be able to get to.
From there we headed back down into town and found the bus depot. There were only two buses there but thankfully one was going to Ghajnsielem. A great town to try and pronounce to the bus driver. He handed over 2 tickets and had a little chuckle. Guess I wasn't even close.
Because of lack of open shops and transport dramas we didn't see as much of Gozo as we wanted but the reason we went there was for what was happening in the weirdly named town. It was a life-sized crib, constructed on 20,000sqm of fields and animated by 150 odd actors, all from the one village, recreating Bethlehem of 2000 years ago. Everything from the grotto to markets, inns, blacksmiths, carpenters, animals and more. The townsfolk all dressed in traditional clothes and each family ran a different attraction. Each year they build the nativity village before pulling it all down after new years. It is a credit to these people who volunteer their time to create something so special. It is gaining international fame and has been featured on tv in many countries.
We had a feed and wandered around enjoying the experience. As it was chilly we headed to one of the fires and got talking to a local villager, Anthony. He was actually from Australia (Maltese background) and had been living in Gozo for the last 8 years. We spent 30 mins having a great chat about life before having to leave to catch a ferry back to Malta. We didn't want to leave but needed to get home and warm Jac up. The experience was very moving and definately recommended to anyone here around this time of year. We will get back to Gozo and see more of the island on our next trip to Malta.
After the ferry back over and after a little stuffing around on buses we arrived back home. Jac is tucked up in bed nice and toasty. We thought the day may have been a bit of a loss with the closed shops and lack of transport but with the citadel and amazing village recreation we have seen something we will fondly remember forever.
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