Balance GeLateria Granola with a nice hike and you get Xlendi
Xlendi (pronounced shlendy) was all about the ice cream. Gelateria Granola is rumored to be the best ice cream on the island. I opted for banana toffee and prickly pear. I was glad that the prickly pear flavor was not so realistic as to contain spines. The gelato was good.
Then there was a short hike. There is a story about some nuns that would swim in a cave so that they would not be seen by anyone. I do not think that was the cave that my little group hiked to. We had fallen behind because we decided to enjoy our ice cream rather than walk and eat.
The first path to the place where the stairway ends was along the side of the sea. The waves would come rolling in and over the cement creating a live-action version of Frogger – where avoiding the water was done with timing, quick steps and the hope that the cement was not slippery.
Once we made it to the steps, we had two choices. Go up or go back. I am decently certain that no one chose to go back because that would be ridiculous after all of the work that went into timing the waves. The steps lead to a dirt path over a hill that revealed the spectacular land- and seascape. Even better, it led to a second set of steps that went down into the ocean, but not in a way that would lead anyone to think that these steps were meant for swimmers.
On YouTube:
Waves crash near the stair well in Gozo
Where does this staircase go? On Gozo at Xlendi
At the bottom of the staircase in Xlendi
Other Gozo stories:
Bella Vista Farmhouses
Dwejra bay: Azure Window, Fungus Rock, Inland Sea
Basilica of Ta' Pinu and Cittadella
The magic of Calypso at Ramla Bay
Then there was a short hike. There is a story about some nuns that would swim in a cave so that they would not be seen by anyone. I do not think that was the cave that my little group hiked to. We had fallen behind because we decided to enjoy our ice cream rather than walk and eat.
The first path to the place where the stairway ends was along the side of the sea. The waves would come rolling in and over the cement creating a live-action version of Frogger – where avoiding the water was done with timing, quick steps and the hope that the cement was not slippery.
Once we made it to the steps, we had two choices. Go up or go back. I am decently certain that no one chose to go back because that would be ridiculous after all of the work that went into timing the waves. The steps lead to a dirt path over a hill that revealed the spectacular land- and seascape. Even better, it led to a second set of steps that went down into the ocean, but not in a way that would lead anyone to think that these steps were meant for swimmers.
On YouTube:
Waves crash near the stair well in Gozo
Where does this staircase go? On Gozo at Xlendi
At the bottom of the staircase in Xlendi
Other Gozo stories:
Bella Vista Farmhouses
Dwejra bay: Azure Window, Fungus Rock, Inland Sea
Basilica of Ta' Pinu and Cittadella
The magic of Calypso at Ramla Bay