A longer walk today to the other side of the island and back. We started out earlier today and got the 7.45 am bus into Victoria from outside the hotel.
Most of the walking today was along stony paths and quiet lanes. The lanes leading us out of the town were lined with dry stone walls.
The first major landmark we came across was the church of Ta'Pinu. There are records of a church here from the 16th C. The shrine of Our Lady of Ta'Pinu gained recognition in 1883 when Kamela Grima reported hearing the Virgin Mary's voice leading to her miraculous recovery leading to the construction of a new church here. The church was constructed in 1920 and took 12 years to complete. It was elevated to a minor Basilica by Pope Pius XI in 1935. Pope John Paul II visited here in 1990. Pope Francis also visited here in 2022. It has become a site of pilgrimage and one of the most visited sites on the island.
Another couple of kilometres and we reached the cliffs at the opposite side of the island from where we had set off this morning.
We found these steps taking you down to the sea.
We cautiously walked down the steps which gave us a look at a natural arch with the sea swirling in and around.
It felt even hotter today although we had left much earlier and it was only midday. I had to stop to apply a blister plaster. My feet were not happy bunnies today. We left the cliffs and walked inland passing over this valley where the stone had been quarried for the Basilica.
We made a slight detour into the village of Gharb. The houses had lovely stone balconies. We had hoped to find a cafe where we could have a sit down and cool drink but there was nothing other than a small shop. Oh well off we go. The next point on the walk is a lighthouse. If you look closely you can see the lighthouse at the top of the hill in this photo. Our walk instructions told us that the view from the lighthouse was magnificent but the lighthouse was closed. M and I walked up a very, very steep hill towards the lighthouse but the road was closed so we couldn't get to the top of the hill to appreciate the views. We were not impressed with the instructions, nor the road closure sign which was missing from the bottom of the hill.
We were all shattered now and trudged along in the heat back to the bus station in Victoria.
I took very few photos. I'm not sure why. I think it was taking all my energy to complete the walk today.
By the time we got back to the hotel at 3pm we had walked 14km but it felt as though we had walked much further. Once back I spent the rest of the afternoon at the spa pool. I found a sunbed in the shade and I enjoyed a very quiet couple of hours alternating between swimming and reading.
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