GOZO, Malta — I decided I could have just as well thrown my shrimps in the water. The fish managed to fool me and make a feast out of it. They ate all the shrimps on my fishing rod, without me even noticing them.
This castle in Gozo was used by the Knights of St. John and then by the British when they ruled Malta. Today it is a nightclub, or disco. (Maressa Zahra/YJI)
According to my expert boyfriend and his mom, the fish ate the shrimps from the side and were too small for me to feel the pull.
No, I definitely have no talent for fishing.
But hey, that’s just one of the delights I discovered on my vacation to Gozo, the sister island of Malta, and here they are, in random order of importance.
Jellyfish
If you’ve ever gone swimming, you must have been warned about these pink mushroomed-shaped bodies. If you’re going to come swimming in the Mediterranean Sea this year, beware – there’s a total infestation of them around.
You’re most likely to get stung, and their sting is uncomfortable, they say.
I have never experienced one, though I always happen to be with people who do.
At Gozo, both my boyfriend and his father got stung. I was swimming exactly near them. Did I get stung? No! Jellyfish don’t wanna come near me. Sigh.
I ask if the fish happen to eat jellyfish.
Perhaps they think they’ll catch my disease and fish will fool them easily, too? Just joking.
Junk Food
I guess this is both a life-saver and a life-taker. But on vacations I eat so much of it, I expand, literally.
This was no exception. I only have to say I gained half a kilo in four days.
You got the knack of it, didn’t you?
And I thought I could exercise self-control easily!
Sightseeing
I’ve been so much to Gozo in my life (it only takes 20 minutes on board of a ship to arrive from Malta) that I tend to dismiss the amazement of the place. There’s something for everybody, no matter if you are the fun-loving type, the cultured-historical type, or anywhere in between the two.
A sandy beach in Gozo (Maressa Zahra/YJI)
I must admit I am more the former type, so I confine myself mostly to the paradisiacal beaches there. Though in Malta, I definitely prefer the sandy ones, in Gozo, I always want to be at some rocky one, because they are too beautiful to be true.
But I always have to remember they are real and not a postcard picture.
When I was not swimming, I loved to take a tour into the island’s cultural life, which is almost entirely made up of churches and a temple – Ggantija – similar to Stonehenge.
The churches are magnificent. Though some are smaller in size than the Maltese ones – almost chapel-sized, they are spectacular to see and a real feast for the eyes.
Lifestyle
Life always changes when you’re on vacation, but what I noticed with amazement was that most of the time, I did not even know what the time was, and I was comfortable about that.
This may sound silly to some of you, but if your life revolves round a clock like mine does, you’ll understand.
For some time, I was able to live life freely – comfortable in the knowledge that I had absolutely nothing to do, and all the time in the world to have fun.
And have fun I did.
Well, okay, yes … the fishing disappointment still lurks behind me, but I can live with it.
Maressa Zahra is a Reporter from Malta for Youth Journalism International.
