Gozo

A day off, in HF parlance, means you don’t go for a guided hike, but we filled ours with an organised group trip to Gozo. This is the view from the Citadel in Victoria, and shows the main feature of these islands as far as I’m concerned. These are small islands, but they are very densely populated. People in our group were expressing surprise at this, but it seems to me pretty inevitable.

Malta and Gozo lie right at the centre of the heart of civilisation as we know it. They have been important as outposts and footholds. They have been occupied by peoples from Africa, Asia Minor, The Middle East, Italy ...right up to the British. Why would these people not establish themselves here?

Incidentally, there are more churches than I’ve ever seen - every little town and village has its own huge church sitting right at its highest point. And armies of wee ladies polishing the floors with fervour. It’s an interesting place.