COMMUNITY

Halfway through our stay, we have already visited three of these sites and by far the most impressive has been Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra temples

Finding these sites can be somewhat daunting but as ever, getting a Maltese taxi (ecabs or Bolt) driver always helps. We were on our way to the Blue Grotto when the driver recommended these temples to us. They were definitely on my list and finding out they were not far from Blue Grotto made the decision easy After a delightful boat tour of Blue Grotto and a nice lunch, we were off to the temples.

Ħaġar Qim and Mnajdra temples (3600–3200 BC) lie along a beautiful stretch of coastline, so it’s easy to imagine why this location was chosen Ħaġar Qim is on a hill above Mnajdra and is easily twice its size The sheer scale of the stone used to build the temples boggles the mind…at least my mind! Both of these sites appeared as hills (buried) prior to their discovery but now, along with all the temples here, are protected UNESCO World Heritage Sites Both sites are covered with huge tarp structures to protect them from the elements. We then took a little trip to Gozo, the second largest of the Maltese islands. Comino being the smallest. Having previously stayed in Victoria, the capital of Gozo, I opted to try Marsalforn, a small village on the northern coast of Gozo Our accommodation was the sister hotel of Casa Gemelli in Victoria, so I had confidence it would be good, and I was not disappointed.

In Gozo, we chose the Hop-on, Hop-off bus tour. This allowed us to visit multiple sites as we were really only here for one full day We visited the Citadel in Victoria, Xlendi Bay for lunch and the Ġgantija temple

Travelling is always a learning experience and this time was no exception. While our stay at the Maria Giovanna Guest House was lovely, getting on this bus tour in Marsalforn shortened our tour by two hours

We were just able to visit these three sites and literally had to flag down the final tour bus of the day on the road! After being reminded “this was not a stop”, we were allowed on. While it wouldn’t have been a disaster; we would have had to get a taxi, we had already paid €22 each for this tour

The next day saw us returning to Malta on the Gozo Channel Ferry. Of note for the ferry, walk-on passengers only pay when they return to Malta. The fee, you might ask, was a very reasonable €4.65!

That’s all for now!

Karon Sinning is a Paris woman living her best life as she travels around the world and truly enjoys all the sights the world has to offer. Karon has been kind enough to journal details from her trips and take Paris Independent readers on the journey with her. Stay tuned for more of her adventures.