Gozo day 6: Calypso Cave and Ramla Bay

Another two buses to get us to the start of today's walk in Xaghra where you can visit the oldest free standing  structure in the world, Ggantija, dating from c3500 BC. Sadly we were too early as it didn't open until 10am and we were there at 9. We decided to start the walk and then come back this way on our return from Ramla Bay.

 We walked through the town and past the church with two clocks. There are  other churches in Malta that have two clocks where one is set to the wrong time as a local legend 'to confuse the devil'. On this church they both showed the same time.

It didn't take us too long to walk through the town and arrived at the spot where the entrance to Calypso's Cave used to be. According to legend this is the cave referred to by Homer in the Odyssey, the epic Greek poem of the 9th cent BC. The nymph Calypso reputedly lived in this cave and this is where she hosted Ulysses for seven years before he resumed his journey. Calypso's cave is a series of caves extending down to the sea. The cave is no longer accessible to the public as the roof had caved in. The next part of the walk took us down to Ramla Bay. However the downhill path mentioned in the instructions didn't seem to exist.

It started off OK but then disappeared into the undergrowth. It was a case of scrambling down very carefully as the rocky ground slipped away from beneath your feet. Slowly but surely we managed to make our way down to be rewarded with a sandy beach albeit red and not golden sands.

At the far end of the beach were a couple of volunteers protecting a loggerhead turtle nest as there were still some eggs buried there waiting to hatch. A group of volunteers keep a 24 hr watch over any nests on this beach to protect the turtles as best they can. they reckon that only one baby turtle in a thousand survives. 

C and I decided we would have a swim. We found a spot where we could have a sandy walk into the sea rather than over pebbles. Once in, it was lovely and warm but the waves were much stronger than I had anticipated. I lasted about 20 minutes before deciding I'd had enough of the waves and got out. There were showers near the toilet block so it made sense to clean off the sand and get changed back. My blister plasters had come off so I cleaned my foot as much as possible and replaced the plasters, knowing there would be a few more kms to walk.  

As we wanted to return to the historical site at Xaghra, it meant a change to the written route we had been given. With the help of M's Satnav on the app we got back to the town without getting lost. 

The Ggantija Temples are included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The site consists of two temples dating back to between 3600 and 3200BC. The name Ggantia refers to the Maltese word for giants as it was first thought that these temples were built by giants. Some of these megaliths or large blocks exceed five metres in length and weigh over 50 tons. The outer walls are built from hard wearing coralline limestone, one of the reasons why they have survived so long.

On each side of the doorway leading into the temple, circular  hollows are carved opposite each other on two large megaliths. It is thought that these might have held some sort of barrier to close off the entrance. Unlike the rest of the walls, the doorway was built using a softer limestone. 

On this wall you can see evidence of graffiti from centuries past.

There is a museum at the site exhibiting some of the items found during excavations of the temples.

A limestone head found at the back of one of the temples.

When individuals were buried they were accompanied by some belongings. These items were discovered in the oldest tomb in the Xaghra circle. They are dated c4100BC.

A shell necklace

 A bone necklace and pendants 

Seated clay figurines.

Clay snail with human head

It was an impressive site and I am so glad we returned to the town to see these treasures. It took a couple of bus rides to get back to the hotel but we were still back with plenty of time to relax and enjoy the pool.