malta: gozo: marsalforn and xaghra

Gozo is a relatively small island. There are only 37,000 or so people living on the island, the towns are all quite small. The island is quite rural, especially in comparison to the main island of Malta. I'd found a few sights I wanted to see, and realized it would be convenient enough to get to all of them using public transport.

The first was the small resort town of Marsalforn. The bus from Victoria only took about 20 minutes. There is a small port, it's probably quite photogenic most of the time.

Most of the boats I saw were painted in traditional Maltese fashion, which made them quite photogenic.

There was a lot of seaweed growing while I was there, but I did see one woman out for a swim.

The town itself didn't have much to see, I didn't even find a big church to see. (In two days on the island I'd already realized that nearly every church on the island was quite big, despite the small towns.)

There was a small man made beach, where sand had been dumped onto large rocks. I was there early enough in the morning that no one was hanging out yet. 

From what I read online, Marsalforn is a resort town, people basically come to town to do nothing in particular.

My favourite 'sight' was an old man who had taken a chair out onto the rocks and was soaking up the morning sun while reading his newspaper. Awesome.

While wandering around I found an ice cream shop and stopped in. I was totally disappointed when I tried to order something from their menu, as they didn't have either option I wanted.

I wandered for a couple hours total, then made my way back to Victoria.

In Victoria I hopped off that bus at the bus station, then waited about 20 minutes to catch the next bus I wanted. This one took me about 15 minutes down another road, to a town called Xaghra. (I have no idea how to pronounce the name.)

My first stop in Xaghra was at a set of rocks, they're a UNESCO sight. I got off the bus where Google Maps told me to get off, but that was the wrong place. 
I ended up having to walk around to another side of the property to get to the entrance to the sight.

The entry fee wasn't cheap (10 euro!) but with UNESCO designation, I wasn't surprised. The sight was well cared for, with fences keeping people from climbing all over. The rocks are thought to be old temples, though no one knows why they were originally built. It is also unknown who built the temples. Despite so many unknowns, archaeologists have been able to identify certain areas and uses, one of which was funerary. 
They've also been able to date the temples, though the range of dates is quite big. I'll settle for the middle dates and say 3600BC.

Oddly enough, the temples were 'discovered' in 1788, and excavated in the early 19^th century. Then they were reburied and forgotten. (I don't know how this happens, especially if you live nearby, I don't think I'd forget a bunch of really old rocks.) The area was then 'rediscovered' in 1964, with more excavations taking place in 1987 and 1994. In other words, these markers of history have been forgotten at least twice?!?! 

I wonder what parts of history around the world are currently forgotten? 

The entry fee for the temples also included entry to a nearby windmill. Inside the windmill there were items on display showing what life in a windmill was like back in the day. I saw which grains were ground, and the mechanical aspects of the windmill. 
I also saw regular life stuff, like a kitchen table and living area. I can't imagine living in a windmill, it must be quite loud at times. Though I suppose the grinding would only happen during the day?

After the temple area, I walked down the street to a big church. This was a theme I'd already noticed during my trip: small town, big church. This one felt even bigger than St George's or the cathedral in the citadel, which were both in the capital city of the island. A tall vaulted ceiling, beautiful painting all around, as well as plenty of mini altars and such. Maybe it felt that way because I knew the town is quite small. 

People were starting to come into the church for an evening service just as I was leaving. The population of this little town is a little over 4000, so keeping reguarly services going has to be a challenge.

Though I'd taken a bus out to Xaghra I realized I could walk back to Victoria. It was a long walk, but quite nice. Xaghra was built on a hill, as was Victoria, so I got to see the views over the area while walking between the cities. I passed a cemetery, it sat right on the 'edge' of the hill. The dead certainly had a great view over their land. I walked over a creek, and peeked into a surprisingly small church, etc....