Hike from Xaghra to Victoria & Saltflats 4/14/25

The Basilica of the Nativity of Our Lady, a Roman Catholic parish church in Xagħra, Gozo, Malta, was built on the site of a 17th-century church.

The main altar was beautiful, with all the gilt and ornateness I had come to expect in Malta.

Every ceiling was painted within an inch of its life. 

I have not seen such ornate chandeliers in any other church, and there were two, catching the light and sparkling from every corner.

Another unusual thing about this church was that they were selling posters. Yes, I said posters of Jesus.

I began my loop hike in Xaghra, near our hotel.  Dennis' knee was bothering him, so he elected to stay at the B & B.  It was a glorious day, about 60 degrees, with some cloud coverage.  The air on the Island of Gozo is so fresh that it smells sweet. 

The Ghajn Xejba - Belvedere (viewing point), where you can see the Bay of Marsalforn and the Tas-Salvatuer Hill with its statue of Christ on top.

I am unsure what kind of bird this is, but he/she didn't seem afraid of me.  I did not test his/her limits by sticking my hand in its face.

This was so cute.  The woman rode solo on a horse while the husband was in the donkey cart with the baby.  Another man is leading the donkey.

I have seen tons of cacti along old stone fences.

I stopped her for a much-needed diet coke and was charmed by the bar.

A sign said this was a 1956 Triumph Terrier - 145 CCs. It was in mint condition.

A good part of today's hike was along the Xwejni Bay. Xinyi in Maltese means galley.

These are salt flats where salt is harvested from these pools and sold worldwide.

I was fascinated with these sand-like hills. Here is your door, Ms. Mary Popham.

There were lots of little entrances.

This was a gift shop built inside of what appears to be a large sand dune, but the texture is slightly harder than sand.

I feasted on a cheese pastry and tomatoes for lunch.  We have had the most incredible tomatoes here.  I bought three pounds for about four dollars.

      

You don't see many of these old windmills anymore.

We ate dinner at another great place, Litini's.  It is hard to tell much by looking at the patio because it is covered in plastic. Inside, the dining area is quite elegant.

Our Amuse-Bouche was potato Leek soup, which balanced the two vegetables perfectly.  We didn't leave a drop.  It was accompanied by local bread, virgin olive oil, and a little cup of salmon relish to dip the bread in. Malta seems to have many excellent chefs who could compete with the finest chefs in the U.S.  

We both ordered Meigle filets, which were filets of seabass atop ratatouille and accompanied by a drizzle of curry sauce.  It was topped with a saladette.  We each had mixed vegetables, not the boring, watery ones served so often, but fire-grilled carrots, mushrooms, and zucchini.  We also each got a bowl of charred potatoes, skin on.

It was a lot of food. I could not eat all my fish or all my anything, but I tried. Dennis ate all of his fish. The owner brought each a complimentary glass of limoncello in a small frozen glass.  What a scrumptious meal.

So today was a long day with the 9-mile up-and-down hike, dinner, and blog writing.  I am pooped, so off to beddy-bye I go.

Good night and God bless.