Whatever they now say, I still love Gozo.

It's been a lifetime affair and I am old enough to remember the far-off days of the SS Jylland. This was the ferry that set out from the Marfa quay in the morning, to then depart from Mgarr Harbour at around 3.30pm on the return journey. Yes, just one ferry per day to enjoy our sister island.

When we berthed in Mgarr, it was straight up to It-Tokk in Rabat for pastizzi and coffee. Then on to a secluded beach - often down the cliff face to Ghajn Barrani - for a pre-lunch swim. On the way there, we'd have called in at one of only about three available restaurants to check out the fare for lunch in the kitchen. After lunch it would be a short siesta in the car in the shade, before joining the queue for the return ferry trip to Marfa.

Am I sorry those days no longer exist? No, not really. The 45-minute turn-around for all Gozo ferries these days makes life so much easier in that regard. But what about Gozo itself? Much has been said in the local media recently about the high cost of... well just about everything across the pond in Ghawdex. And yes sure, inflation (and/or greed) has hit Gozo harder than most. But I can't bring myself to emulate many of my friends and simply give the place a very wide berth.

In the early years of the current century my wife and I used to frequent a small house in the village of Gharb, where we would stay for four or five days every month. We got to know our neighbours who included people born and raised in the village, as well as a motley band of foreign residents. We also fell head over heels in love with the village of Gharb and its surroundings. We became regulars in the village shops and frequently ate supper in the Rangers (the Gharb football club), or the band club near the church.

It is perfectly obvious that prices have sky-rocketed in the past 12 months or so... in Gozo as well as everywhere else. In my experience there has always been a two-price system in our sister island, so there's nothing new about the recent hike in restaurant prices across the water. Ever since I was a young kid I have frequented a certain fish restaurant in the northwest of the island. The patron became a friend and his food was always a cut above most eateries in Gozo. He had a simple charging plan. It was one price if you requested a receipt but considerably cheaper if you told him that you did not want a receipt... simple eh. Nobody gets hurt, except the treasury... but only with very minor fiscal cuts and bruises.

On the other hand it is perfectly clear that Gozo is losing out big time, in view of its insistence in charging over the odds for accommodation and restaurant food. A good friend of mine has recently taken out a long-term lease on a small cottage in northern Sicily. He told me that he still loves Gozo but can no longer afford to stay there for long weekends or more protracted stays. And, as we well know he is far from alone in this, so... if our sister island wants to claw back at least some of the punters who got away, then they are going to have to do something about it.

Sadly, I am not holding my breath.