Clouds covered much of the sky while I took a prebreakfast ride along the coast. As I passed the salt pans, the sun peeked from behind the clouds giving the whole area a pink glow. It seemed like an omen for a good day. Further down the road I took a right down a very rough track behind the skip (dumpster) and worked my way along the coast. I discovered a deep gorge with the surf running a couple of hundred yards inland. It rained on me as I headed back for breakfast but that was the last of the rain or even real clouds for the day. After eating, I rode through Victoria to Sannat where I felt as if I had arrived on to the edge of the world at Ta' Cenc plateau. I got a nice view of Comino, the third of Malta's three islands, and one I will not visit. It's mostly uninhabited but does have a hotel open in the summer. I could also see Malta and make out with my binoculars the Hilton Hotel in Paceville.
     Continuing on the smooth dirt road I began to make sharp turns and descend rapidly. After a while I got a glance of a long slender tongue of water reaching into a gorge much like the one I found this morning. You can just make out the gorge to the right in this picture of the road. This one is a popular swimming area in the summer but my road ran out before I got there. I was able to pedal through on a foot path that put me on the road down to the boat launch and swimming area. When I got to the bottom I pedaled up the canyon for a ways enjoying the quiet. As I left the pool area I took a different road from the one I came in on. I had hoped such a thing would work out. It's always more fun to find a way to make a loop out of an exploratory trip. 
     Now my goal was to find my way to Xlendi, which my Lonely Planet had described as overbuilt but worth a visit. This undoctored photograph gives some idea of the challenge of navigating through the a narrow, winding, often one-way streets of Gozo. I love the blue signs as they have no route numbers. The problem is that sometimes the town on the blue sign is not the one on my map or not the next one. In many cases they do a great job but sometimes there isn't one when you really need it. At other times they are just confusing. This morning serendipity struck when saw a blue sign in Sannat pointing to the Cliffs. I followed a track that seemed to run out. I couldn't imagine driving a car on it but it was heaven sent for a mountain bike. I passed through terraced farmland and at each terrace the road washed badly requiring technical riding. Suddenly I came upon magnificent cliffs. They were a little too magnificent for me as they dropped straight with nothing visible below but water and no barriers. The wind get pushing me towards the edge, thus adding to the thrill. 
     Returning to my search for the back road to Xlendi I passed through a big dairy farm with tractors, hay bales, lots of cows, piles of manure and not enough space to hold it all. Eventually I found a rough, narrow road that led through typical farm patches surrounded by stone and a particularly good example of terraced farming. The road turned and dropped and then I caught a view of some cliffs ahead. I could feel the neat feeling of anticipation as I got closer to Xlendi. I dropped down a very steep hill between some buildings and stopped at a gorge. I made a right and pedaled before the road went right and I got a view of Xlendi Bay tucked in the rocks with tables on the waterfront and colorful boats pulled up past a sparkling beach. Ravishingly hungry I pulled up a table in the sun and ordered spaghetti bolognaise. Mesmerized by the scenery and glad not to be pedaling up some steep hill I savored every bite and lingered over my tea. Eventually I couldn't stand it any longer and had to hike the stairway to my right that ran up the side of the cliff. A short hike to me up and then down to a grotto where I climbed down and could see the sea out the other side.  As soon as I finished that hike I followed the promenade around the other side of the bay where it led me to a stone pedestrian bridge that led to a point reaching out into the ocean and further protecting the bay. From it I enjoyed great views of Xlendi, the cliffs and the ocean. 
     I left Xlendi via the main road which was different than the one I came in on but also involved a long, hard climb. I followed a sign to Kercem and eventually managed to find my way on a narrow road reaching way out on a high point of land. I hoped I would be able to go out on the long cliff I had viewed from my hike in Xlendi. For a long time it seemed that I would have no view but finally I got to a stretch of road so narrow that I'd be nervous about driving my Honda through it. I don't know what I'd have done if I'd met a car on my bike. I'd of had to back track to an opening in the rock walls and there weren't many. Anyway I was soon looking down upon the point where I had hiked and looked into Xlendi Bay. By then my token lunch had worn off so I pedaled down wind to Victoria where I had Pizza Gozilana served by a friendly waiter with a wife from Long Island and hearty appreciation of the beauty of South Carolina. I sat there savoring my pizza and the great excursion of the day while I watched busloads of tourists being herded into the Citadel.
     I hated to leave Gozo but after riding to the eastern most point of the island enjoyed another grand ride on the ferry across the channel. I bought some food before I left Mgarr and when I reached Malta I pedaled up the first of the two major climbs confronting me. I stopped at the top of the Marfa Ridge at  Red Tower (built in 1649) to eat my lunch. I found a sheltered spot and just kind of collapsed under my bike. Several hikers passed by including a German man and Rumanian woman who expressed approval of my cycling adventure. After lunch I continued west on the windswept ridge where views of the cliffs at Xlendi, cliffs on Malta and the lonesome ferry terminal rewarded my effort. Malta rewards the traveler with views of places visited and those to come. From the ridge I could see that eastern point of Gozo I had recently ridden as well as bays along the west coast of Malta I would visit later. One of those, Anchor Bay, has created a tourist attraction by retaining the set of the movie Popeye. I didn't stop but took a picture of "Sweethaven" as I passed by.
     I cruised on familiar roads, and with a tailwind and no pictures to take made it to Spinola Bay in good time. I decided to stop there and enjoy that inviting spot. I left my bike next to a bench and went to get a coffee. When I returned someone was sitting on the bench. I asked if he minded if I sat there as well and he cheerfully offered the other half of the bench. He had been here for five weeks from Nottingham, England and shared my affection for Spinola Bay. We talked about Malta, vacation and a little politics. I checked into my room at the Hotel Europa where they gave me an ocean view room for my ten Maltese lira a night. What a deal!
     The next morning I pedaled over to the Three Cities on the other side of Grand Harbor. I had read much about them in the Siege of Malta and in my Lonely Planet Guide and was eager to visit them though I anticipated, correctly, some unpleasant traffic to get there. The three cities sit on three points of land that reach out into the harbor. When the Knights of St. John came to Malta from Rhodes in 1530 they settled on Birgu, the middle peninsular. The others were called L-Isla and Bormia but after the siege they were renamed Vittoriosa,, Senglea and Cospicua. I'm currently reading The Kappillan of Malta by Nicholas Monsarrat who lived for several years in San Lawrenz on Gozo. He claims in delightful sentence that the three cities were "so christened by Napoleon, of the tidy mind and tyrant will, in his efforts to impose civic order and logic upon Maltese who were indifferent to both." In any event I pedaled through the gates and into the walls of Senglea. Narrow streets full of people and commerce led me to the point looking out over the harbor shown above. Turning the other way I looked across at the walls of Valletta that weren't there when Senglea suffered bombardment from what was then Mt. Sceberras. From Senglea I worked my way to Vittorioso and on the Cospicua. I then road out to the area of Fort Ricasoli but mostly found warehouses and industrial buildings. I continued to Marsaskala where I had lunch on the waterfront. Marsaskala has nothing special but was a pleasant place to rest and watch people. Traveling offers opportunities to see curious phenomena and I saw one here. Along the waterfront they have a dedicated bike path the only one I saw in Malta. Given the presence of the bike path the prohibit bikes on the promenade which makes sense. However, as shown here they allow parking on the bike path on Sundays and holidays. It makes one wonder just when they expect the bike path to be used. I guess it is difficult to please everyone on a crowded island.  On the way back I passed through a gate in the Cottonera Lines, more protective walls near the three cities. In Valletta I came upon a statue, I don't even know what tragedy or violence it commemorated, but  was intrigued by a dog who stood motionless, as if part of the display. 
     My next to last day I pedaled out to Mdina again and then continued on to the Buskett Gardens, the only real patch of woods on Malta. Its a pretty area in a rich valley and popular with locals for picnics. A short way up the road are the cart ruts, strange gouges in the limestone that appear to be manmade but their exact nature is apparently not agreed upon. 
    My last day on Malta I didn't leave until almost nine p.m., and the challenge was to have a full day of vacation even with check-the-bike problems looming. I decided to ride to the southwest part of the island to see some of the ancient ruins. Little is known about the prehistoric structures but the guidebook says that they are the oldest free-standing structures in the world constructed between 3,000 and 3,600 B.C. Hagarqim and Mnajdra sit off by themselves in an isolated area. I then rode to Birzebbuga  and St. George Bay where I encountered a monument signifying the end of the cold war in a meeting held by George Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev in Maraxlokk Bay in 1989. I then pedaled to Maraxlokk, where I had my last meal in Malta overlooking the harbor. I took a picture of some boats and then watched as six or ten men manually launched two of them. I found the process fascinating. Clearly they had done it many times but it still took considerable effort. Lunch included a pink fish served to me intact with tail, head and eyes. Then, just like that, my vacation had come to an end and I pedaled to the airport, disassembled my bike, changed clothes and became just an ordinary traveler with a 31-hour trip home.