Maria Grech is a 21-year-old law student who grew up in Gozo. It is her childhood home, and the place she escapes to when things get hectic

Gozo is many things to many different people. It gives me a chance to kick back and relax. It gives a person the opportunity to get away and concentrate on its beauty.

I try to visit Gozo as much as possible especially because all my family is there. I try to make sure that I keep strong ties with everyone and call my parents every single day. My mother and I always message each other to say our goodnights and sweet dreams. It is a way for her to know that I am safe. They do worry about me but now they have gotten used to my independence and realise that I can manage things on my own.

Like most of the children in Gozo, my brother and I spent our childhood surrounded by the affection and cares of our parents, grandparents and other dear relations. Summers were no exceptions.

My early recollections are those of sleeping at nanna’s in Qala. Early mornings were spent fishing with grandpa Frank at Zewwieqa overlooking Comino, followed by a dip in our swimming spot. We would also help grandma to pick and peel figs and prickly pears. We would go back home and help her prepare and cook our catch and after she would set us off for the afternoon siesta.

Maria with her father; and with her mother and brother during her childhood days in Gozo

I also remember the lovely mornings spent at Ramla Bay. Endless hours spent with relatives and friends playing on the sand, lunching, swimming and splashing. Similar evenings were spent at Xlendi Bay and Hondoq Bay followed by BBQs and music. I was always looking forward for our weekly boat trips to Kemmuna on weekends on my uncle’s boat.

Parish feasts were always an event not to be missed. I preferred the St Joseph feast at Qala since there I was surrounded and entertained by my cousins and extended family. The Santa Maria feast was also marked on our calendar. We never missed the annual animal ‘wirja’ (show).  

Yet my best recollections are the summers spent at our summer residence in Marsalforn. Sleeping and waking up to the smell of the sea breeze. Always totally active from morning till late, indoor and outdoor celebrations with friends, lazy days by the sea, night hikes and clubbing. As I got older, I clearly remember sneaking off at night to attend parties and discos organised at ‘The Rook’ or ‘Grotta’. The ‘it’ place to be in the afternoon was Ghar Qawqla in Marsalforn. A lot of teenagers and young adults used to hang out there and show off their cliff-jumping skills or else end up in a mud fight at the far end of the beach.

I try to make it a point to visit Gozo at least one weekend every month. In winter I tend to visit more often than summer because in summer I have a full-time job and on weekends I prefer going out in Malta. Yet I still feel close to Gozo, since at the end of the day it is only an hour and a half away and it is always on my mind somehow or another.

Actress and writer Pia Zammit’s family is Gozitan. Although she lives and works in Malta, she says that Gozo is in her blood and her heart; a birthright and a privilege

Gozo is peaceful, Gozo is pretty, Gozo is calm and Gozo is quiet. And yet, there’s always something happening on the island if you know where to look for it! Gozo is where I go to regenerate and refresh and to take a break from the more frazzled me. If everyone went to Gozo periodically and pressed ‘alt-ctrl-del’ on their lives – the world would be a more harmonious place.

Pia as a wee child in Gozo, on the far left, holding her brother Gianni's hand

When I was a kid, holidays meant Gozo. Oh the excitement. Oh the packing! Every summer everything would be packed into the little Fiat and off we’d go – singing and chanting. I used to be able to feel the stress leave me bit by bit as we got closer to the ‘Gozo Boat’ – once on the boat I was as happy as Larry, counting dolphins and flying fish.

We lived in the family’s Marsalforn summer house – right opposite the sea. I used to love waking up and running right into the water. If I wasn’t swimming I was walking with my nose in a book. Then getting lost. We’d live on Gozitan time – which meant a long nap in the hot afternoon – everyone a sea of shimmering green covered in slow sticky lazy Gozitan flies – and then staying up as late as late can be. Sometimes someone would bring out a guitar and we’d sing rude songs at the water’s edge till 3am. Sometimes we’d just run around and play.

One weekend in Marsalforn I remember it raining like it was the end of the world. I must’ve been around 6 years old. Next thing I know, we’re all rushing upstairs and downstairs the furniture’s floating – and then the road collapsed into the sea. It was very dramatic. I remember thinking if the sea would eat up the house and if dolphins would come to live there. I loved dolphins.

My dad used to take me to the Xlendi cliffs just before sunset and we’d shout out to ‘Mr Echo’ (there’s a really good echo there). And then we’d laugh and shriek as swarms of bats flew over our heads. I was convinced that one day I’d hear Batman. Sadly that hasn’t happened yet.

I want to retire in Gozo. Unfortunately Malta takes up a lot of my life – family, work, theatre. But it is my dream to retire there. Slowly, slowly it will happen. Then I’ll be at peace.