Discovering Gozo

Recently we spent a couple of days in Gozo. Though we have been there before, we limited our visits to day trips until now. So we thought it would be a good idea to take a few days and look around a little better. So we booked a hotel in Xlendi and rented a car at Mgarr Harbour. Here are a couple of observations when comparing Malta to Gozo.

First of all, Gozo has more extensive nature to offer than Malta. Because it is far less densely populated than Malta, villages on Gozo are farther apart than on Malta. Having said that, this also means that you don't easily walk from one village to another. That for us was the main reason to rent a car, because normally we prefer to walk around a bit.

But driving around can be a challenge to. Since we chose not to think to much ahead but just 'let it happen', we ended up on several roads which proved to be somewhat difficult. Luckily it hadn't rained to much in the days before, because some slopes I prefer not to drive on a slippery surface.

Of course driving left takes a while getting used to, on the other hand prior experience helps and I did drive around in South Africa too. But with the narrow streets, potholes, one way traffic and all, let's just say it's a little different than we're used to in The Netherlands. To be fair, the Dutch are spoiled when it comes to infrastructure. Which doesn't stop us from complaining about it, as a matter of fact.

Gozitan people are very friendly and the island is even more safe than Malta. As we heard it is not uncommon to have a spare key hanging next to the door and locking a car isn't daily practice either. Quite surprising for someone having lived in the greater Rotterdam area, as you will understand.

As for the night life in Gozo, as far as we can tell, it's rather quiet. Walking around on the streets early in the evening we noticed that the streets were as good as empty. To be fair, this was in February, so in July this may be completely different. So if a vibrant nightlife is what you're looking for, you'd better stay on Malta. On the other hand, if you are looking for peace and quiet, Gozo is the place to be.

Many Maltese like to visit Gozo, often visiting family or friends, to get away from the hectic day to day life. Basically there are two ways to look at it. When you ask people on Malta, they will quite often state that Gozo is great, but they wouldn't want to live there because of the fact that it is too quiet. Ask someone on Gozo and find out that this is exactly the reason why they live there.

Personally, we prefer Malta. Though we wouldn't want to live in the middle of the tourist area, we do like to be able to get there in twenty minutes or so by foot. That's why we live where we do, in a quiet part of the busy island. As the crow flies, our house is only a few hundreds of meters away from the boulevard. Yet sitting on our terrace it's quiet and peaceful and within two hundred meters there are local supermarkets, greengrocers and iron mongers where the owner recognizes you and chitchats with you as if time doesn't exist. That for us is the charm of Malta.