We had breakfast sitting out on our balcony watching the town wake up and get started. With the construction all around, it is noisy, but it’s fun watching the bay and the boats coming and going. There’s a couple of families of ducks in the bay and they are quite chatty, quacking away as they swim around the bay.
I wanted to go hiking. Malta is famous for its hiking routes. While in Victoria we had stopped in the tourist information office to ask about some trail maps. The guy there was most helpful and he loaded us up with 10 beautiful booklets each detailing a hike around Gozo. I actually only wanted one trail map, but was happy to receive all 10 because they contain wonderful explanations of the flora, fauna, geology, and archaeology in Gozo, full of beautiful photos. So, they’ll be keepsakes.
Yesterday, we had walked to the bridge that crosses the end of the fjord where the hike begins. It looked daunting climbing up the hill on the other side to get to the top and Christine was not at all keen on doing so. This morning we agreed that I could go by myself and go to the watch tower and along a short section of the Xlendi trail. I also promised to keep in touch via Messenger (as long as there was a cell signal). And off I went.
It was a beautiful morning and I was happy to be going on a little exploration. After crossing the bridge, the trail went up a steep set of stairs chiseled into the rock and then up a path that clearly acts as a drainage channel as the rock was difficult to traverse. I think Christine made a good decision not to try going up the trail. Once up, the top was quite flat and it was an easy walk over to the watch tower.
The watch tower was built in 1650 by the Knights of Malta. There are many of these historic watch towers all over Gozo and Malta. They were used for both communication, where fires would be lit to signal to the next tower, and for keeping an eye out for pirates and other invaders.
In front of the watch tower I did not expect to see a series of salt pans, areas cut out of the limestone for the purpose of collecting seawater in depressions so that salt crystals form as the water evaporates. It’s such and interesting process and there are several active salt processing areas around the islands using salt pans.
Along the seafront past the watch tower was mostly smooth, wind and water fashioned, limestone. It looks like it is sand, but for sure it is limestone. When it has been smoothed it is a very rich golden color.
On these sections of stone, I didn’t see any vegetation, although it is so amazing how some plants seem to grow right out the the stone. That’s where a crack in the stone formed and a crevice grew. When the small cliffs of limestone eventually collapse, a couple of things happen. The collapse produces some interesting boulders and the collapse also creates stone surfaces that are conducive to plant growth.
I walked along the limestone for a while and then made my way diagonally up the hillside to the top where I met up with the trail. The trail was nicely marked and I followed it until I came to an overlook of a small bay. The overlook was beautiful and I could see all the layers of limestone in striations along the cliff face.
I could have walked farther, but I knew Christine would be worried since I didn’t have cell coverage and it had been a while since I last messaged her, so I turned back and stayed on the trail until it led me back to the watch tower. I walked around the salt pans some more and enjoyed the views.
I enjoyed the walk, but not the return down the steep trail to the bridge. It was challenging, but I made it down without too much problem. I got back to the apartment. It was getting near lunchtime and we needed a few things so we walked to the mini-mart for essentials. It was a tiny little store jam packed with all things imaginable. We then had lunch sitting on our balcony taking in our beautiful surroundings.
After lunch, we decided to take on Carolina’s Cave across the bay. There’s a set of stairs at the end of the bay that go up to a trail across the rock and down to a very small cave. History has it that it was a place where a group of Dominican nuns went to bathe in private. It’s certainly not easy to get to, so I kind of doubt that story. Christine needed her bravery to go there, but it was her idea to do so.
The blue hand railing was a life saver because thousands of footsteps on the rock had smoothed it to a very slippery, slide-producing footstep, so we had to be very careful. Towards the cave end there are steps down into the cave. Christine didn’t go down those steps, preferring to stay in a safe spot. Of course, I had to go down and investigate.
It was a very small cave, but the view from it was great. The limestone was like coral, though, and very sharp so handholds and footsteps were kind of treacherous.
The shocker was seeing hundreds of very pink jellyfish in the cave. We had talked with two swimmers who indicated that there were a lot of jellyfish in the water, but we hadn’t noticed before now. These jellyfish are Mauve Stingers and are quite common. They are not deadly, but do leave quite a rashy, painful area if you’re stung. Once we knew they were in the bay, we saw them all over the place. That nixed swimming for Christine. But the creatures in this cave were beautiful to watch, and they were certainly abundant.
That was our afternoon adventure. After that, we returned to our apartment for a little siesta. We later had dinner at a little place right at the end of the bay on the waterfront. The restaurants here are all very different. Of course, seafood is a main draw, but there’s an Indian place, a place that offers a full Chinese menu, and where we ate, a quesadilla was the special. That’s what we had and it was delicious. One thing lacking in Xlendi is a gelato place. There is one, but the vendor doesn’t have a stock in yet, a little too early in the tourist season apparently. We settled for Magnum ice cream bars and sat on a bench at the end of the bay and enjoyed the last of the evening.
I then had to go to work at 10:00 p.m. and attend a UHS meeting, scheduled for 4:00 p.m. EDT. It’s crazy that I can be halfway round the globe and still participate in a meeting held in Binghamton. Fortunately, the meeting was only an hour.
And that was the end to our day in this nice little village of Xlendi.