Birthday Boy

It was Dorian's birthday on the 29th. He's been struggling with a cold since Christmas Day but felt well enough to go out and about. He wanted to see the church at Xewkija - the one that dominates the whole island. This church has the 3rd largest dome in the world after St Peter's in Rome and St Paul's in London. It's new, as churches go, having been built between 1951 - 1971, but was built on the same site as all the previous churches

I like the legend that goes with this church. The Apostle Paul was shipwrecked on Malta as he was being taken to Rome for his trial. He was on Malta for awhile and during his stay, the villagers of Xewkija heard him preach across the water, were converted to Christianity and immediately started to build a church.

The boys climbed up to the bell tower. The view was fantastic.

We then walked into Victoria and did some shopping. Lunch was at the sports bar where Dorian settled down for the remainder of the afternoon. We left him to enjoy his football and took the bus to Ramla Bay, the only sandy beach on the island, and home to Calypso Cave. The legend behind this hole in the cliff is that it features in Homer's,  "Odyssey". Having never read it, we can't tell you any more.

The day ended with a birthday dinner of ribs. They were hilarious!

Christmas Gozostyle

For those that know Sheelagh you know that she gets very excited about traditions of all sorts. So, here in a very exotic place with very exotic traditions, she's all over the Christmas celebration. We have attended services and marches and feasts. We have watched fireworks, both at night and in the noonday sun. The later is just the works as you can't see the fire. We have listened to lectures in Maltese. We marched through the streets of Nadur in a procession led by all the Christmas characters. We then retired to Al Capone's Pizza where Dorian downed a cheese burger with ham, topped with a hotdog and onion rings and a salad. It has been great.

Christmas dinner this year was made up of roast potatoes, veg and Lampukie pie. This is a pie made of potatoes, olives, tomatoes, onions, capers, walnuts and fish that is caught off Gozo for a couple of months and then it leaves for the year. These dishes were followed by traditional bread pudding. Sheelagh loved it. I dreamed of a big drumstick. The day was capped by watching the new James Bond in Victoria. It was a great day.

Dorian has been slowly coming down with a cold. so he took it easy on boxing  day except walking in for a double cheese burger, and cleaning a rabbit in preparation for the next traditional meal.

Main Hall of Hypogeum

Today we all girded our loins and took the trip to Malta to the Hypogeum. This is a subterranean complex consisting of three levels of chambers that were carved out from 3300 BC to 2400 BC. They were used to bury the dead and to celebrate a variety of rituals pertaining to the dead. The middle level is made up of the Holy of Holies and the Main Hall.. There are a series of smaller rooms at different levels where the bodies were placed. Heritage Malta has done a wonderful job setting it up so that small numbers of people, (80 per day), can book in and see the place. It is booked well into 2013 already. We thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

Merry Christmas

"And there were sherperds living out in the fields near by, keeping watch over their flocks by night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

The villages and streets of Gozo make it easy for us to imagine Bethlehem. The front part of our farmhouse was where the animals were kept and has the remains of a manger. The neighbour next door has sheep and goats which he leads out to pasture on a hill down the way. The Christmas message seems very close here. With the sheperds, we glorify and praise God for all the things we have seen and heard. And most especially, for the gift of Jesus, Our Saviour.

Blessed Christmas. Love, George, Sheelagh and Dorian

The Wheels on the Bus Go Round and Round Forever

After a flawless trail run on Wednesday from here to the airport on Malta, yesterday, the real thing, was pretty terrible. Dorian had to get up at 4am in Edinburgh to catch his flight which arrived at 11:40am.
After the aforementioned trial run, we decided we could catch the next ferry and still be there in plenty of time. On our way to the bus stop, the bus to the ferry flew by - 5 mins early. No amount of waving and jumping about will make a bus stop - even at the bus stops, they barely slow down. The ferry terminal is a 20 min walk, down hill. We figured we could make it. The ferry waited until it saw the whites of our eyes and pulled away. A little more waving and jumping about.
The 9am ferry left on time and there was a bus waiting at the other side which took the posted 55 mins to get to the airport. All was well as we walked into the terminal. Dorian's flight was early and he made it through all the formalities in time for us to hop aboard the same bus just before it left for the return to the ferry. At last, the plan was working.
Then, every person in Valletta who owes a car decided to take it out for a spin. An hour later we were still sitting in traffic in Valletta; as we were an hour and a half later. Two and a half hours after leaving the airport, we roared down the hill towards the ferry and you guessed it.....

The next ferry meant we'd missed our bus connection on Gozo The buses run every hour. Following the dictum of our good friend, Kathy Graham, we threw money at a cab driver and finally arrived home. And then the lights went out.
Fortunately, we were prepared, having listened to the caretaker to buy candles for such an eventuality. And the stove is gas. I could have charged an extra 20 euros for the ambience at supper.





We finished the day at  the Cathedral in Victoria listening to a lovely Christmas concert by the National Orchestra. The total blackout didn't stop the buses running but it did mean they slowed down We arrived stirred but not shaken. By the time we got to town, the lights were back on. All the churches have the most magnificent chandeliers. The atmosphere was beautiful. They could have charged an extra 20 euros.

And The Q's Are Silent

Today we passed through a village with a 5 letter name. Three of the letters are "Q". Our book tells us the Q's are silent. We laughed.

The last couple of days have been sunny and windy. We have been doing a little exploring. We decided to visit Zebbug. We've been calling it Zee Bug. It's really Zaybush. This town sits atop a plateau a little north west of here. We got off the bus to be told by a lovely old lady that, no, there were no restaurants in town, we must go down to Marsalforn. This proved to be a steep, but pleasant walk, and we ended up walking along the sea as the waves crashed on the rocks. We reached a great little cafe by the sea and enjoyed a delicious lunch as we watched the surf.

The bus took us back to Victoria where I got a haircut , and Shush bought and sent some postcards.

Today we did a test run to the airport in Malta so that on Friday we could get Dorian without stress. It took a little over 2 hours to get there. We spent some time in Valletta enjoying the Christmas festivities. There was a Christmas tree made of Maltese glass balls. Were home shortly after sun down.

Gozo Noel

We've seen some beautiful nativity sets in the windows of stores and businesses. The favourite one thus far is made of paper mache and incorporates buildings found in Victoria. The lights have been turned on in all the towns and we've been to two concerts this weekend.

Last night was a brass band concert in Independence Square. It was great to sit outside under the stars listening to the music. Brass bands are found in every town. This one was from Victoria.

Tonight we went to a Gozo Christmas at the cultural centre in the Citedal. Unfortuately, all the speaking was in Maltese so we can't tell you too much about about their customs. Only that the traditional Christmas drink is made of ground chestnuts, dried, ground orange,lemon and mandarin peel, ground cloves, cocao powder and boiling water. It is so thick, you have to drink it with a spoon. An aquired taste, we think. Something it hasn't taken us long to aquire the taste for is the traditional honey ring - some sort of rolled out cookie dough filled with honey, ground almonds, ground figs and spices rolled into a log and shaped into a wreath and baked.

The Azure Window

Fungus Rock

Dwejra is a tiny harbour, home to the Azure Window. It was a beautiful day yesterday as we marvelled at this sight.. It is also the home of Fungus Rock. It gets it's name from the very rare plant growing on it. During the time of the Knights of Malta, this plant was believed to have wonderful healing powers. Any one not a Knight caught on the Rock was sentanced to three years in the galleys. Apparently, modern tests have shown the plant to have no medicinal value but as cynomorium coccineum is very rare, the island is still off limits. Maybe the sentance still holds as well.

On the Rocks

Gozo is famous for its sea salt. Today we had a chance to see how this low tech industry works. We woke to a clear sky and no wind, so after breakfast we got ourselves down to the bus and off to Xlendi, pronounced shlendy. It is a small seaside village which hops in the summer.

The harbour is guarded by the oldest of the towers (1650) built by the Knights of Malta to protect Gozo from pirates. A case of closing the barn door after the horse has gone as the dread pirate, Dragut Rias, had dragged most of the population into slavery in 1551.

Below the tower are some the the island's salt pans. The winter storms fill the depressions with sea water which has totally evaporated by August when the salt is harvested.

The cliffs were a favourite spot for fishermen, who used to inch their way down using ropes, and hang suspended as they fished. Today, they use boats.

After lazing on the sunny rocks for a while we walked to a waterside cafe and had delicious sandwiches for lunch.