Il-Kastell (Cittadella)

Yesterday we took the bus to Ir-Ramla (Ramla Bay)...now, we did expect it to be fairly busy because it's easy to get to, looks lovely with its red-gold sand...but we were totally unprepared for the sun-loving tourist set!  I will not describe the behaviour we witnessed...suffice to say we didn't stay and won't be visiting another beach that's popular with tourists.  The trick, of course, is to go somewhere difficult to get to...and if the weather and jellyfish omens align, that's what we'll be doing!

The Malta weather site also includes a "jelly map", updated daily, showing which bays are expected to be safe for swimming and those that may see jellyfish action.  They don't predict what type of jellyfish might occur, but there have been blooms (love that description...no doubt familiar to my crossword-avid family!) of mauve-coloured jellyfish very active in the waters and, while they look rather gorgeous, they pack a powerful sting.  Brent checks the jelly map each morning and it dictates where we might head to the beach.

Anyway...today was not a beach day.

We visited Il-Kastell, which is the old walled town of Victoria (known locally as Rabat, which is the Maltese reference to "capital city"), a fortification that's been present since the Bronze Age, and used by and developed by the Phoenicians and the Romans.  When Gozo was subject to raids by the Turks in the mid 1500s, the whole town hid within the Cittadella.  There are also parts of Il-Kastell that were used as unofficial air raid shelters during World War II.  A restoration of the town was completed in 2016 and the site includes some interesting museums, a couple of unobtrusive cafés, some tiny arts and crafts shops...and some great views of Gozo and surrounds.

Our favourites were the Gozo Nature Museum and Gran Castello Historic House, which provides an insight into life on Gozo.  The museums are housed in buildings dating back to the 1500s, and they're a great wander.  I loved the lace making exhibit in Gran Castello...makes our cross-stitch look so simple!  My favourites in the Nature Museum were the Shame-Faced Crab and the Ocean Sunfish...just beautiful!