Gozo

Gozo is one of the three Maltese islands with Comino being the other. Gozo, and Comino, is a top site for both diving and snorkeling. Our weather continues to not be so great, so unfortunately it is not really an option for Stacy. While waiting for our ferry, one of the hop on hop off touristy buses offer us a sweet deal, so decided to try it out.

This worked out really well since Stacy and I had limited time and were planning on using public transit. Malta’s buses are famously off schedule. So much so, that I feel badly even including the word schedule since it implies there is one:). Thus far, buses are often 30-60 minutes behind schedule, meaning, they not only miss their scheduled pick up time, but the next one or two pick up times after that as well.

The tourist bus gives you headphones to listen to the history of your upcoming stop and awesomely runs on time. Driving in Gozo is a harrowing experience. The roads barely seem wide enough for a one-way street, let alone two way traffic plus a bus. Cars often have to stop and backup to allow the bus through. Turns were made that seemed to require an impossible turn radius.

Riding in a bus in Gozo reminded me of a Seinfeld episode where he spoke of riding in the back of a taxi and how incredibly dangerous it all felt, yet somehow you feel removed from the experience because you are just a passenger behind a plexiglass window. That’s how it felt. With each turn I expected to smash an historic building or car or both… like I was in the bus version of the video game Rampage.

Gozo is a more laid back version of the main island. All the homes are still built how they used to be centuries ago. Stone style houses that would lead you to believe you were back in that era. It is quite pretty. We checked out an artisan town but our main goal was to hike.

Gozo has a trail that wraps around the whole island and if we had more time we would hike it. Instead, we settle for a small portion of it, a 5K hike from one town to the next, where we will pick the bus back up.

The hike is gorgeous and follows the coast the whole way. Trail markings aren’t the greatest and often have to backtrack to stay off private property. It has been raining off and on since we got here in Malta, which made for very muddy trail conditions. Mud can be both a weight on your boots and sometimes make you feel like you are ice skating. We finished the hike just in time to catch the final bus of the day back to the ferry. Really enjoyed Gozo and thus far, Malta in general.Læs mere