New Artisanal Beers from Gozo - Lord Chambray Ales

A new range of pale ales has hit the (selected) shelves in Malta.  Hailing from Gozo, this is the Lord Chambray trio of beers - and we felt duty-bound to investigate them on your behalf.

First off: these are pretty expensive, certainly by Maltese standards.  We paid €10.35 for the 3-pack, so the local Skol drinkers are unlikely to be tempted.  Still, worth a minor splurge once in a while, I mean you're not going to be able to find these very easily once you've left the island.

Ggantija Temple - Gozo

This is the most visited cultural attraction in Malta, if the brochure is to be believed.

So I really should have made it my business to get along to this Temple before now, but better late than never.  Anyway, it wasn't going anywhere fast.

For many years it was believed that this massive stone edifice was constructed by giants, hence the name.  You can see why when you get up close and personal to it, as it would have taken quite some time and effort to heft and wedge these huge chunks of rock into place.

Two Famous Statues of Christ in Malta

Two statues of Jesus, in two very contrasting environments.

First we have the Statue of the Risen Christ, which sits atop a hill in Gozo, near Marsalforn. The hill in question - Tal-Merżuq Hill - has been the subject of legend for many a year. Although to be honest, Malta is such a small place that any slight geographical anomaly has probably got about fifteen legends to it's name.

Top 10 Things to do in Gozo

As always, this list is based mainly on general consensus in books, magazines, websites and blogs - weighted a little by our own experiences.


10 Heart of Gozo Museum 'Il-Hagar':  Beautifully laid out multi-media museum featuring many exhibits from St George's Church

9 Calypso Cave:  Overlooking Ramla Bay, and said to be the cave where Calypso kept Odysseus a prisoner in Homer's 'The Odyssey'.  (As all involved were just characters in a book, this is unlikely to be factually correct)

Xlendi - My New Favourite Place in Malta

 Why have I not been informed about this beautiful little town before now?

In case you haven't heard either, it is well worth a visit next time you are on the beautiful island of Gozo.  Xlendi is in the South-West, a small little town which has developed from fishing village into a touristy Riviera-style resort.

Azure (Blue) Window

If you plan on visiting Malta to marvel at the beautiful rockscape of the Blue Window in Gozo, I suggest you don't wait for your retirement to do so.  Because it won't be around for too much longer according to experts, so you might want to catch it while you can.  In April 2012 a large chunk fell from the side of the arch, and the local government is resigned to the fact that eventually the entire structure will collapse, leaving just a column of rock sticking out of the water.  This will be rather less impressive than the window in it's current form, and Gozo will lose one of it's major attractions.   The Gozo ministry hired a UK consultancy firm to look into ways of slowing down the inevitable, but they seem to have concluded that there's not much to be done - don't go parking a fleet of lorries on the bridge of the window, but otherwise just accept the inevitable.  (I hope they didn't pay too much money to this consultancy firm).

All of which is just another way of saying: go and see it while it's still standing.

Gozo

The Azure Window at Dwejra

Gozo is probably a must-see if you are visiting Malta.  Not so much during the winter months, when a lot of the shops and restaurants close their shutters and there's a kind of empty feeling about the place, but you should definitely make it part of your itinerary any other time of year.

Of course there is a certain appeal to the place that doesn't exist when it's overrun by tourists, so take your pick.

The Gozitans are to the Maltese as Newfoundlanders are to Canadians, or Alaskans to Americans.  Regarded as having a certain quaint novelty value, glad you're part of the team, but different.  Gozo makes Malta seem like a cosmopolitan hub by comparison.  It has a charm of it's own though and if you are spending a week or more in Malta you are missing out if you don't  pay a visit to the red-headed cousin to the north.