Travel Guide Gozo

Gozo is in Malta what Belle-Ile is on the Atlantic coast, the Holy People in the Antilles, which, 30 years ago, Ibiza was in the Balearic Islands and Djerba to Tunisia. We would like to believe that the transformation here will be less cruel. There is also a good chance that the Gozitains will be able to resist any major project that might disfiguring their island.In Gozo, there is a special Atmosphere of Relaxation in the British and the pride of aboriginal people, pride in being gozitain. This shows, among other things, advertising objects or T-shirts simply labeled "Gozo", as if this sign alone implied membership of an insider family. Moreover, the inhabitants of the island show a certain condescension towards these restless Maltese who think only to work. And about the small size of their island, they will answer to the Maltese that "the best perfume is in the smallest bottles." The Maltese, for their part, will tell you that Gozitains are peasants prone to greed. In Gozo, we know how to take its time, enjoy the softness of living. The Gozitains know how to be demanding about their quality of life, which they defend consistently and effectively. From their island to the colours of paradise, these artists, these sages only give a distant look at the bustle of the world. To the traveler who discovers it for the first time, the island, beautiful, calm and luminous, appears in a luxurious serenity.Gozo currently has close to 30 000 inhabitants, 1 000 of whom depart every day working in Malta, which seems to indicate that 29 000 lucky people have managed to organise their lives without needing to leave their island! Most villages have been built on buttes so that, from everywhere, the eyes are far away, on another village, on a portion of the coastline, and sometimes even on the entire island. This sense of controlled landscape, understandable, delights the few tourists disappointed by Malta sometimes too urbanized. Here you can easily distinguish from each other's villages, you know where you are. Coastal landscapes are more savage and more accessible.The island is traditionally a resort, its pimpantes and cinema houses are the subject of the constant care of their owners. As in Malta, they are adorned with railings, twisted columns, wrought iron balconies and surrounded by charming gardens. They are grouped around the central places of the villages to which, obviously, the Gozitains give special attention. The church is the pride of the parish, its place as well. Well arranged benches, flowers, lights, a café terrace, everything is done to make these places a (pleasant) centre of the social and economic life of the village, not a simple intersection. On the whole, the campaign around Gozo has kept a wild character, barely disturbed here and there, by some modern buildings, new apartments offered for rent, snack bar or some other inevitable sign of modernity. The coastal approaches have a lot of charm, and the view on the cliffs, the edge of roads or roads is very often beautiful.For example, the edge that leads from Victoria to Dwejra Point offers a succession of wonderful landscapes. The approaches of the roads and the hills, in bloom all summer, are punctuated with lauriers, geraniums and bougainvillea.The main activities of the Gozitains are agriculture (tomatoes, melons, potatoes) and fishing. Tourism has also become an important source of revenue for some years. In attitudes, however, there is still an invisible border that has doubled the physique of the «channel» separating Malta from Gozo. Nevertheless, although the Gozitains still evoke the «inhabitants of the island of Malta», a beginning of integration is taking place in the social and political life of the country. The gozitaine life flows peacefully and the animation slows down after the last ferry departs.Autumn and winter are privileged seasons, and the absence of tourists invites you to indulge in a genuine rest. The summer brings some animation, especially on Friday and Saturday evenings, when young Maltese people enjoy the pleasures of the two gozitaines discos. As for cinema, there is only one left.New tourists usually visit Gozo in a fast return and promise to return to spend a little more time next time. Others, more knowledgeable, earn Gozo directly (via the airport shuttle) from their flight to Luqa to spend all their holidays. Gozo is gradually becoming a destination for tourists and travel professionals. The Maltese arrive in Gozo in the early days, many of them have a secondary residence. The family settles for the holidays, the husband carrying the ferry for Malta every Day. While in the 1960 s the new occupants were retired English people who had been restoring farms, however, it was mainly Canadians and Australians (of Maltese origin) who followed them. They like to get great flags from their former country of adoption, which some find somewhat ridiculous, since they are still Maltese and non-Australian. Along the way, you're surprised by a coat wearing the Australian flag or a kangaroo statuette on a balcony. This immigration immigration has also had a beneficial influence on the Gozitains, always open and sensitive to the cultural and even sometimes economic contribution of their hosts. Indeed, they often become investors, as is the case with the small Australian community in the village of Xaghra.