Gozo 1

From the air, the colour of Malta is mud yellow. Buildings are constructed with quarried yellow limestone so the overall impression is a yellow landscape.

Passengers rushed off the bus and ran up the boarding ramp of the ferry about to depart. I decided to hang back and take photos. In the cafeteria I enjoyed a tuna and salad sandwich and a coffee, not having eaten since the small snack on the flight.

As it turned out, crossings were frequent anyway. I was also hoping to photograph the moon at dusk, knowing that it was full from the fact that the Moon Festival had just been celebrated, but it was too early for that.

Between Malta and Gozo is the small, practically uninhabited island of Comino. Tour boats bring visitors to the blue lagoon for its cyan waters.

A connecting bus took me to Victoria, a.k.a. Rabat, the capital, in the middle of the island. Unfortunately there was no map on my booking confirmation for Downtown Hotel. You'd think from the name it would be in the centre of town, but in the description some rooms had a "country view" so I suspected that it was actually in the outskirts.

Luck was still with me; I happened upon an open WiFi AP and was able pull up GPS and maps and find that Downtown was only 5 minutes walk in the same direction.

The hotel was at only partial occupancy, the summer season being over. Temperatures were near perfect, at around 24C. A bit more humid than I'd  like, but this is a cavil. At last a room all to myself to swing a cat. But no cat to hand.

I unpacked and headed back to the old town for a bite. Cozy bistros and cafés were scattered here and there. Customers were drinking though. I got lost in twisty alleys lit only by yellow street lamps at intervals. Silent enough to hear my own heartbeat if I paused. I never felt anxious though. Eventually I emerged outside San Ġorġ where there were al fresco diners. Later this plaza was independently recommended to me. Lucky again.

I didn't feel like a full cooked meal so I ordered a fisherman's platter which was smoked octopus, swordfish and salmon on salad, accompanied by Gozitan bread and the local Cisk lager. It was still quite filling as the portion was ample.