Today we went out to make our first exploration of the hidden Mediterranean Sea. Gozo is one of the smaller, less populated, Maltese islands. Being a small barren limestone island in the southern Mediterranean at the end of a long hot summer that has been unusually dry, we found it hard to begrudge them the much needed rain that we experienced during the night and early morning hours. But as we dropped our five Zodiacs into the water, the blue sky and warm sun showed up on the western horizon.
We visited several places on our island tour, but the main event was of course the visit to the very early, megalithic temple, the Ggantija, built at about 3600 BC. Predating the pyramids in Egypt it is one of the earliest man made structures to survive into the highly technical 21st century! These early Neolithic temples are a common feature in the western Mediterranean Sea and along the west coast of the Atlantic Ocean you can find several monuments like this, the most famous of which is Stonehenge. Who were these early temple building civilizations and why did they build such elaborate structures? We can only speculate about the answers while we stand still admiring these magnificent constructions.
The tour ended at the house of Mrs. Sonja Lindblad in the village Gharb. She invited all the Caledonian Starguests to a luncheon cocktail reception around the pool in her garden. As we arrived at her beautiful house, she introduced us to a number of local dignitaries. Along with the champagne and lots of different hors d'oeuvres, in a beautiful garden we had the opportunity to watch a number of local craftspeople make lace, delicate baskets and reed curtains.
Lindblad Expeditions, together with the Caledonian Star guests, was also able to contribute to the local fundraising efforts of the island heritage society for the conservation and restoration of the important monuments through the purchase of a limited edition print of an 18th century watercolor.
