2013-05-05 36 14

Location

On a field on Gozo (Malta)

Participants

Plans

Go to Gozo to seightseeing and geohashing.

Expedition

According to what we could gather from the low-res satellite photo we could glimpse at via a dodgy wifi connection, the hash point was on a field and accessible. This, apart from the sheer luck the coordinates hit (is)land were too good an opportunity to miss. So we took the bus up to the northern corner of the island, where the ferry to Gozo leaves. Along with us went the usual variation of tourists, Gozitans and Maltesian on their business, as well as a girls soccer team on their way back from a game one Malta.

The ferry transfer is quite beautiful, passing the smallest Maltesian Island, Comino and its popular grotto and Blue Lagoon. In the harbour of Gozo, there was such a rush for the bus (with everybody needing to pay in small change and needing explanations) that we missed our connecting line at the main bus hub and had dinner before taking the next bus. After a nice salad and a burger we went on through the countryside and went off the bus some 1200m from target. We passed some mown fields and hedges, a vineyard and a bit of street and ended up much nearer to the next village than (at least Rincewind) thought. The hash coordinates were on a barren field and easily reachable. Hash success, and a virgin graticule, too!

Interestingly, this is actually Rincewind's first public transportation-reached geohash. There were no kittens to be petted- bad luck since Malta has quite a lot of street cats. After the usual photographs, we walked back a small road through the next village, took a bus and visited Rabat's impressive Citadel.

On the ferry home, we found that a small boys' soccer team is a lot more noise than their female teenaged equivalent. When we got to Malta again, we had the last adventure of the day- taking an express bus. This is an error that's easily being made and could bring permanent damage to you. The concept seems to be not to drop too many bus stops to gather time, but to employ the maddest rallye amateur available to race a bus through narrow lanes or straight into a traffic jam, still accelerating while all traffic in front is already braking. Closely in front, too. Everybody, at least the tourists, was very happy leaving the bus without being carried out feet first.

All in all, a great geohashing adventure, new achievements for Yakamoz and Rincewind and more picturesque impressions than the gallery should be burdened with.

Yay!

Gallery

Proof.
A church enroute. Absolutely in the middle of nowhere. In Malta, there are LOTS of churches, sometimes right next to each other, and most of them obscenely big.
View from about 300m from the hash (Iirc) to Ghasri (Speak with a silent "Gh":~"Asri"). Note the next big domed church.
1m... 0...1... 0...1... 0m! Yay!
If there ever was reason to grin, it was for this expedition.
The hashpoint as seen from the citadel in Rabat. Should be about 2-3km. The coordinates are between the scrap place (cars, etc.) left of the middle of the picture and the field with the hay rolls. Slightly misty, I'm afraid.
The ferry back to Malta and proof of our use of public transportation- and the cheap prices of the latter. Driving a car on Malta doesn't make sense, even to Rincewind.