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Gozo our day trip.
The day starts bright and early with a pickup at our hotel, on the way up north to the ferry port near Crikewwa, as we cross country from the golden bay heading towards St Pauls Bay to pick up the main road going north towards the ferry port past Mellieha.

Just outside Mellieha on the right there is a good view of the forte “ Tas Salib ”, then we are on to Mellieha Bay where the sweep of golden sand, shallow waters and excellent amenities make this a popular resort for families. In the distance perched on top of a hill is the famous Red Tower or correctly known as St, Agatha’s Tower, this tower was built in 1649 during the grand mastership of Juan de Lanscaris-Castellar, it was substantially restored by Din l-Art Helwa starting in 1999 and ending in 2001 assisted by substantial industrial sponsorship and is now open to the public. This offers spectacular views over the surrounding country side over to Gozo and Comino on most good days.
We then travel further north over the hills and down to the ferry port near Crikewwa, in-between the two bays of Ramla Bay and Paradise Bay. On arrival at the port we are all given our tickets for the ferry and introduced to our guide who we will next meet on Gozo, when we disembark the boat and board our coach.

Mgarr Ferry port.
The port of Mgarr is overlooked by the town which is built up on the hills which surround the port, the most prominent feature as you look up to the left is the church on the hill. The harbour is quite a busy fishing port as can be seen by the number of small fishing boats. As we drive out of Mgarr up the hill on the right there is the church called Our Lady of Lourdes, further on the road heading to the capital Victoria, and off to the left is the church of St John the Baptist.
Upon our arrival in Victoria close to the central square where we are going to watch an information film about Gozo, “quite interesting” this takes about half an hour. On leaving the theatre we have the choice, to walk up the steps to the citadel top for some spectacular views over Gozo, or have a longer look around the market in the square and take in the relaxed way of life with a cup of coffee and a peacake “very nice”.

Xlendi Bay.
We gather at the meeting point in readiness for the short walk to the bus for the next part of our tour, this is the short journey to Xlendi Bay for a spot of lunch, where there is a very nice harbour and a nice inlet with beautiful clear water. The restaurant is just up from the main town on the left overlooking the bay. On leaving the coach and entering the restaurant, when sat down we are offered a choice of ether fish or meat, with red or white wine for the main course “ which was very nice “. Overall the food was very good, and every body had plenty of time to eat, and even a little time left over for some sight seeing “ see pictures “. On rejoining the bus we headed for the Knights Wash House and some locally made glass, hand made lace and woollen goods, plus local wines and liquors.

Then it is on to our final port of call at Dwejra for the Azure Window, the fungus rock and also the inland sea, where the local fishermen run short, but exhilarating trips to the Azure Window through a curious rift in the cliff. The Azure window is a huge arch of rock nearly 100m in high and is perhaps the most spectacular natural phenomenon in the Maltese islands. Then we board the coach for the final journey back to the ferry port for the journey back to Malta and our hotel in time for a relaxing late afternoon swim and ready for our evening meal.