All of my talk of being well rested and showing off about my sleep being so good came crashing to a halt last night. I had a shocker, around 4 hours of sleep in a couple of spells and at breakfast, I was feeling it. I even tried an espresso to try and kickstart me but with very limited success.
Nonetheless, I knew that this was our penultimate day and so I filled all of my stomach and both pockets with food and prepared myself for the day ahead. It was the last day that we would see Spencer as he would be on a rest day tomorrow and so we hugged and had a few photos and we thanked him for his kindness.
We met up with my mum and brother in the garage, hopped in the car and set off on our final adventure of the trip. We were heading to Malta’s sister island, Gozo, which was just a short drive and short ferry crossing away.
My brother was driving, mum was shotgun and I was sandwiched between the kids in the back of the car, squashed in like sweaty sardines waiting for the air-con to kick in. The kids, being kids in a car, were a little tetchy and my mood wasn’t great given my lack of sleep.
As we pulled up at the traffic lights at the junction to the bypass out of St Paul’s Bay, my son suddenly just shouted ‘Day !’. What the hell was he talking about? I looked out of the window and assumed I would be seeing a zoo or a stag party but, no, there was a monkey sitting on the driver’s knee in the jeep next to us.
It looked very much like a scene from the classic Clint Eastwood film ‘Every which way but loose’, one of the weirdest things I have ever seen. The monkey sat on the driver’s knee and you could see that the driver was talking away to him and, I swear to god, you could see from his hand gestures that the guy was telling his primate chum that they wanted to turn right at the junction.
The owner then reached into the back seat, picked up a water bottle and had a swig. He then passed it to the monkey who also had a quick drink from the same bottle and then the monkey screws the cap back on the bottle and pops in on the passenger seat. I quickly asked the guy if I could take a photo which he thumbed up and I grabbed a few shots while my boy just kept saying ‘Monkey!’ over and over again.
Then the weirdest thing happened, and I swear to god again that this happened. The lights changed to green, the driver started to move away and the bloody monkey was steering the car. It turned the steering wheel to the right and then released the wheel from his grip to let the steering wheel spin back and take the car onto a straight course. It was incredible.
The rest of the short trip to the ferry was a bit of a blur to be honest with everyone just checking with each other that we had all just seen the same thing and it wasn’t part of a fever dream.
We pulled up at the ferry terminal and were told that it was free to get the ferry off the island and we just had to join the queue. It was only a 45 minute trip over to Gozo across crystal clear waters and the breeze as we broke through the water was very refreshing. I love a boat trip, I always feel like I am going for an adventure!
We disembarked and drove towards Victoria to see what was going on. We pulled up at a Ta’Kola windmill and we were going to have a little look around but the guy at the door was more than a little bit rude and it was going to cost about £60 for us to get in. We decided that it was a windmill and we were pretty comfortable with what they did and how they worked and so would move on.
We followed signs for the Gozo craft village as we thought that might be a nice place to pick up a few original bits and bobs but, with it being a Sunday, there was nothing really open. The one place that was open was a leather working shop but as I didn’t really need a new belt or a bikers jacket, there wasn’t really much for me there apart from the cats that were roaming around looking for cuddles.
We gave up and drove to the town centre to see what was going on and parked up in the bus station where there were a few market stalls selling bracelets, hats and t-shirts. My daughter and I bought matching wrist bands (that lasted about 5 days before breaking by the way) and we wandered into the town.
If you get the chance to go to Gozo, just don’t go on a Sunday, you will be wasting your time. I wish we had gone on another day and made more of it. It was very hot, very clammy and we should have researched more and visited a few of the vistas and bays but we decided to make our way back to the ferry.
It was indeed free to get off Malta but it was a few quid to get back home….smart move! It wasn’t a lot of money and well worth it for the adventure.
We made our way back to the hotel, had a little relax time and then showers before dinner. We ate like kings and then retired to the bar for the final of Uno. I don’t recall the final scores, but it is fair to say that I didn’t make the amazing comeback after my shocking start to the season!
We took photos around the pool, as you have to do as per the holiday laws, and reflected on a very comfortable and enjoyable break. The hotel was excellent, the facilities were superb, the staff excellent and we had made some lovely memories. Would I go back to Malta, probably not to be honest, I think that there are better places to go but it was worth a trip to find that out.
Itchy Feet and Titchy Feet 