Friday, 23rd to Sunday 25th February 2007

The Gozo Weekend is now in its second year and has almost become a de rigueur event for Ramblers.

As expected, the event was fully-subscribed well in advance with some would-be participants reluctantly not accepted as we restricted capacity to that which our chosen hotel could take. The very welcoming San Andrea Hotel got a full house of Ramblers just a week after the busy Carnival weekend.

:: Friday 23 February ::

The Friday afternoon ramble started from just outside the hotel where a group of around 50 followed the seaboard trail southwards after a short address by RAM Secretary Alex Vella. Alex read out a letter RAM was to hand in to the Munxar mayor to protest against the illegal concreting of a country pathway in a scheduled area.

GW1 - Round the bend...Rambling round Id-Dawra tas-Sanap

We first crossed the old footbridge across the Wied ta' Kantra and were soon on the cliffs going round the small cliff-girt bay called Id-Dawra tas-Sanap. A little further on the rough terrain smoothed over but this was only due to the recently laid out illegal concrete road courtesy of Munxar Local Council which has scarred the area. It is a pity that instead of outright condemnation the major political parties saw fit to turn this serious infringement into a slinging match of who actually did the worst illegalities in the area.

GW2 - Silent Protest at Munxar

Serious environmental politics should be way above such shallow apportioning of blame. After a short stop on the (unconcreted) cliff face we moved on to Munxar village where a small symbolic protest was held while members of RAM committee handed the letter of protest to the Munxar Council.

Winding our way out of Munxar we traced a trail, which follows the southern ridge of Xlendi Valley with panoramic views all the way on the valley below and the road and hills beyond. All in all a fairly easy two-hour walk with a purpose.

Saturday 24 February

GW3 - Il-Gebla tal-Halfa near Hondoq ir-Rummien

Saturday morning saw the group assembling in Qala Square. Ramblers made their way eastward past the small Kuncizzjoni Chapel at the edge of the village and then down to the small pebbly beach and saltpans opposite the islet named Il-Gebla tal-Halfa. From here on to the next cove ( ta Bu Ghass ) it was a real tough stretch with participants literally hugging shoreline rocks with the sea doing its best to get as many people drenched as possible. Quite a few people sported wet pants after crossing this tricky bit. Next up was the abandoned Knights era battery at Qala point - fondly known to the locals as It-Trunciera. This historic building at Gozo's easternmost point is finally due for some well merited restoration. From here we turned westwards following the coast on what must be Gozo's half mile of shame with debris and dumping material encroaching up to a few feet from the shore. This piece of the coast could otherwise have been quite a bleakly beautiful landscape but is now almost hopelessly ravaged. Once past this enormous eyesore we took a path going due south which eventually led back to Qala.

A three-hour walk mixing breathtaking seascapes with some obnoxious remnants of human greed and indifference - a wake up call.

GW4 - Qala Church - start and end point of walk

After the tough walk on the coastline around the village of Qala in the morning it seemed unlikely that many members would turn up for the afternoon walk at Ta' Cenc. Predictions erred as no fewer than forty had itchy feet to start at 3.00pm from Skerla Street, following Mark Thorogood to the cliff edge to first view the junction of cart-ruts there. The sheer cliff edge was followed southwards and the group maintained the high ground as the lower headland replaced the cliff-edge to the west. Over the bridge at the head of Wied Sabbar the ramblers could admire the beauty of the small valley of about one kilometer that ends up at the 'fjord' next to that of Mgarr ix-Xini.

GW5 - The cliffs of Ta Cenc

It was a sight to see some on their hindquarters descending into the valley on the rocky slope, until the lower fields skirting the valley floor were reached. Five hundred meters on and we took the dirt road that through the area of the Ta'Cenc bungalows  leads to Mgarr ix-Xini. After a merited rest by the clear waters the walk resumed up the dirt road until a detour was made to view the remains of Tal-Imramma prehistoric temples, as they rest (where they once proudly stood) contorted and converted into hides by the hand of bird trappers.

By half-five all were back in the warm comfort of the Hotel thanking San Andreas for a smoother walk than the one they had experienced in the morning.

GW6 - Maltese Everlasting ( Helichrysum melitense ) an endemic
species found only on Gozo's western coast

Sunday 25 February

It was now time for the amiable John Mizzi to take centre stage and lead this incredibly scenic walk which from l-Ghadira ta Sarraflu (or San Rafflu) wound its way up on to the cliff face until we saw the whole dramatic vista of Dwejra at our feet - The Fungus Rock, The Azure Window - plus the beautiful sun which had given us a miss on the past days' walks. This walk was characterised with picture postcard views as well as the very rich flora of the area - not least good populations of the grey-green endemic Maltese Everlasting ( Helichrysum melitense ) as well as other rare and not so rare flora - indeed this whole area should in future be the first nature park on the Islands - regrettably up to now the only progress on this laudable idea is a billboard on the Dwejra Road. After skirting the outline of Dwejra Bay ramblers wound their way up through meandering inland country paths reaching our start point after about 2 hours of very scenic walking.

John Mizzi has kindly added a gallery of photos on this walk at the link here.

GW7 - Fungus Rock

GW8 - Across field paths

GW9 - Fungus Rock across the fields