Mgarr-ix-Xini in Gozo could be a great spot for an island with so few beaches. Instead it is a big parking lot.

Once you get there you have two choices: to sit among or at the back of two rows of parked cars, not more than three feet from the water. At the moment you can’t say: “What a beautiful spot!” as either from a boat or from the road the only things you see are cars and cars.

It would be so easy, at least in the summer, to use a field behind the beach as a parking place, and leave more space in front for people who would love to enjoy the beach and put their towels in a better space than between wheels and exhaust pipes.

An average of 150 cars go to Mgarr-ix-Xini on a Sunday in the summer. A small fee could be asked for parking: it would pay the rent to the farmers and maybe for an extra person to clean the rocks, which are always very dirty, with people lying among cigarette butts and leftovers from someone else’s picnic.

Even diving schools would be able to unload divers and their equipment near the water and leave the big trucks in the parking place. A small effort is necessary from everybody if you really want to improve things.

We, as regular visitors to the island, are ready to do it, but it needs the participation of everyone. Surely it is worth a 20-metre walk from parked car to beach in order to preserve the natural beauty for all to enjoy.

Michela Moro

Sannat