Sheilaclapkin's Blog;

GOZO

Harbor where the ferry to Gozo docks

There are three main islands that comprise the Maltese Archipelago. Malta, Gozo and very tiny island Comino where two brother’s and their cousin live.  It was a dry but rain was threatening  as we drove to the ferry to take the twenty-five minute float to Gozo, but by the time we walked onto the ferry, it started to rain.  It started with sprinkles and as the day wore on it became more furious. Hey, you are on a trip. You have come a long, long way; this is the only time you will see this island of Gozo, so we set about it in earnest. Gozo is 9 miles wide by 5, so it does not take long to go from place to place. All the homes and buildings are made from a honey colored limestone, so the facades are all the same color. It looks soft and soothing. Actually, the buildings look delicious.  When the stone is first cut it is soft, so many of the homes have carved balustrades around balconies and once they have been carved and set, they harden and will last for centuries.

The Maltese Islands were an interest of conquest because they are exactly in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. Now, tourism is the main industry, but mostly on Gozo they are still farmer’s and men of the sea. Gozo is clean, green and fertile. Sixty percent is agricultural land. The countryside is terraced and ownership of the land is divided by stone walls, reminiscent of Ireland’s countryside walls.

Ggantija Temples

Ggantija Temples: They claim that these free standing temples are the oldest in the world, older than the Pyramids and Stonehenge. They were built around 3600 B.C. I tried for the entire time we visited this area to get a vibe from the past, a glimpse into any little pocket of time ready to burst and talk to me, but alas, nothing but cold stone, wind and rain. I made my heartfelt offering on the sacrificial alter and it was not a goat, or a little lamb. It is a hope for the future of humankind.

Next stop on our private tour was the Citadel. Walking the grounds in the hard rain was interesting because it is all uphill and the rain cascaded off of the marble and stone paths like a river heading for the sea. We stuck with it to get to the top for the glorious views.The early inhabitants were required by law to spend their nights in the Citadel because there were great dangers due to raiding pirates and tribes who would take the citizens into slavery. We noted many lookout towers in Gozo to protect the island as well.

View from the Citadel walls

We were delivered to a local old Gozitan farmhouse for an authentic Maltese style lunch and local wine. When we sat down a great wind hammered the window and the rain pelted down with a fury. The food was salty and the wine was not the greatest,it was cold, but we were in the countryside of Gozo, in an old farmhouse and we were happy. It was a happy house.

St. Ta' Pinu Basilica

After lunch we visited the St. Ta’ Pinu Basilica.  Madonna St. Ta’ Pinu has EVERYTHING to do with cures, real life saving miracles. Okay, this is why I came to Gozo, I am convinced. I didn’t know it then, but I surely do know it now. The church itself is lovely, but along all the walls of the corridors, and rooms are photos, thank you letters, and items sent by people who have thankfully been cured of their ailments. The walls are covered with wartime medals of honor, silver hearts, baby clothes, crutches, casts and all memorabilia of cures. I do not have words to tell you how moving this experience still is in my mind.  If all of these people believe in this saint’s ability to cure and have sent proof, rooms full of their belief in her curative powers, then, who am I to argue any of this, so I believe, too. I believe as well, that the power is in the belief.  I purchased very little on this trip, but I did buy little trinkets depicting the likeness of St. Ta’ Pinu and if you want one, ask, and if I still have one I will be glad to give it to you!  I am wearing a little bead bracelet with a tiny likeness of hope and cure plus, I feel ten times better than I have in years.  Now remember, the power is in the belief and I believe in the power and the cures relating to this belief. Imagine all of these cures and all of this power of belief delegated to St. Ta’Pinu residing in a hilltop Basilica on a little fairly remote island called Gozo. Best of all, now, I got in on it.

Lace Making

We visited lace making, wine and cheese tasting and the town square in Victoria, the new name for the capitol of Gozo. The ancient name is Rabat, an Arabic name.

Both Malta and Gozo have many traditions and words in their Maltese language that date back to the times they were occupied by neighboring countries. They switch from Maltese to English and back again all day long.

The law is there are no divorces, so choices have to be carefully made. No abortions and no cremations.

Something to be noted: Garbage is collected every day in Gozo as well as Malta. Lucky. They just set out their bags, recycling is optional at the moment and the trash will be gone in the morning. Also, on Tuesday’s and Friday the people buy their fresh fruits and vegetables. This morning is Tuesday and walking down the road we spotted a man selling vegetables and fruit to the local women from his truck.  You know I loved that scene. What no camera on hand? Skip’s Uncle Danny used to sell fruits and vegetables from a truck in Albany, New York almost a seventy-five years ago.

Gozo is beautiful and note the honey colored lime stone used in building.

Today was our walking tour of Catania and we awoke to a downpour.  It lasted throughout our entire walking tour.  Okay, so they ordered a bus for us, but we did much walking in the center of town, rain and all.  We went to an open air market, mostly meat, cheese and vegetables. Of course they had erected large umbrellas for their customers. Did you know that they have beautiful purple broccoli that is delicious and red oranges that make a deep tasting and hearty  juice. They turn these brilliant colors because  there is a 20 degree temperature difference between day and night. Catania is at the base of Mt. Etna which accounts for the temperature differences and the color changes.

Catania is beautiful and a wonderful city. The people are exceptionally warm, generous and gracious. The city is a gathering of many cultures past and present.

On our own free time, we did try to visit the Prince of Catania, who entertains visitors from all over the world from all walks of life.  We absolutely could not find the right building. Well, we will have to make an appointment for our next visit.  If you would like to host a meeting and or a banquet in his palace, he will oblige.

Our afternoon tour was to Taormina, a beautiful sea side village on the Ionian Sea.  Not only is the whole town beautiful, the main street charming, but it has a unique place of great interest which is the ruins of a Greek Theater. It is one of the most famous Sicilian monuments in the country. It was an honor to be taken there and spend time in this spot.  They still use this theater in the summer when evenings are warm and they invite top performing artists to perform. It is capable of seating 5,000 spectators. It is my favorite ruin and monument to date.

We did quite well in the rain today, but it is uncomfortable to get soaking wet.

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The Valley of the Temples and Mt. Etna

As you walk through the Valley of the Temples, just down from Agrigento you have an incomprehensible reverence for the Greeks who inhabited and worshiped in this area over 500 hundred years ago. They left some of the best preserved ruins in the world. Later, many years after the Greeks were gone, some of their temples were turned into churches, but the churches soon faded away and the original temples reemerged through weathering.  With just parts of the temples remaining, much of the splendor is left to the imagination.

I do not know why I picked Apollo out of the many God’s in mythological history, but I am certain Apollo, God of light and truth walked along a bit of the way with all of us. Possibly light, enlightenment, and truth are things I needed to explore in this valley.

We had a bit of a drive to Mt. Etna, so our guide said he could not really discuss the Mafia with us, but he did. Oh my, after exploring its ideology we found that it works all the way from the bottom to the top perfectly.  I’ll tell you my favorite story. When the elections are coming to fruition, the money from the bottom all the way to the top finances the candidate of choice.  Now, when it comes time to vote, the Mafia knows what you want, like a new motor scooter, a T.V., or an upgrade on the 90 day wait list to get needed medical attention. You get it and in return, you get an already filled in ballot. You take the marked ballot to the voting station. You get a blank ballot on which to vote. You turn in the already filled in ballot in the polling box and your responsibility is to turn in the blank ballot to your Mafia contact. So it goes. Having elected officials on your side is quite valuable wouldn’t you think?  They don’t kill anymore, so it is said, but you don’t say no to them because there are other consequences you will not like.  It works. Everyone gets what they need and want. How can you argue with what works and makes everyone happy?

The afternoon was spent climbing (in the bus) 6,500 feet into Mount Etna. We saw the effects of the 1984 pyroclastic flow. There was already a snow pack, so imagine white snow and black lava rocks. Beautiful.  Now imagine it starting to snow a little while you get out for a stop. This California girl had to stand out in it and then, it really started to come down hard. I was covered from head to toe in snow. Oh how wonderful, I thought, but it was not so wonderful for the driver of our bus.  The guide quickly gathered us and began to descend the mountain slowly and carefully.  We had no chains and we would have had to wait three hours for the snow plow, Visibility was altered.  Finally we crawled down out of the snow and came down, down, down, from Mt. Etna to the town of Catania.

The photo shows that the lava flow stopped just short of a school.

One of the main reasons we chose Sicily to visit is because my childhood and lovely friend Josie brought back a jar of sea salt from Sicily.  I enjoyed using it so much, I thought this might be the perfect place to pick up another jar of salt. Of course I could have bought it online, I am sure, but being there, being at the salt flats where they are drying salt from the sea is much more exciting, believe me.

This is where the salt extraction takes place. The extraction of salt from the water, as you can see is in varying stages. They pile it up and then they put a tile roof over each pile so that it will keep dry and continue breathing as it is drying out. You see two piles without tile roofs and those are ready to bag or jar for sale. I do not even remember the name of this little wonderful place, but the bus pulled up and a few explanations were made and then we were on our own. What a lovely little respite.