Roaming around the Mediterranean island of Gozo is a constant adventure. Despite the recent collapse of the ubiquitous Azure Window, there is still a plethora of treasures to be discovered. As a rule of thumb, unexpected beauty is always around the corner.
If you travel to the town of Marsalforn in the North of the island, and head west along the coastal road you will suddenly find yourself in a surreal world of limestone waves on the left and a giant spiderweb of glistening salt pans cut into the stone on the right. It’s a stunning view especially with the blue/ green ocean as a backdrop. Having traveled to Gozo many times, this is one of the places I always come back to. It’s that special.
Leli tal-melh
While the checkerboard of the Gozo salt pans goes back to the times when the Romans were on Malta, they are actually still active today. The family-owned and operated salt company Leli tal melh still harvests salt during the summer months. The sea salt itself tastes great and is super for cooking – it dissolves nicely and the flakes adds a smart look to your food when sprinkled on top.
A beautiful sunrise
On a recent trip back to Gozo, I woke up bright and early to take photos of the island. The salt pans were first on my list as they are an excellent location to see the gorgeous sunrise. I love taking photos of the geometric formations and figured the orange sun would add some visual spice. Little did I know that the Leli tal-melh team would be out there that early to harvest the salt. They were kind enough to let me take photos of them scraping the pans and gathering the salt. It was a very tranquil and almost meditative scene despite the fact that this is hard physical labor. All photos were taken with my Fuji X-T2 and the Samyang 12mm lens.
The Gozo Salt Pans
When visiting Gozo make sure to allocate some time for the Xwenji Salt Pans. It’s a gorgeous place and the close-by swimming/snorkeling is also awesome. The Leli tal-melh team is usually around to sell their salt during the day. You should definitely plan to pick up a bag or two.
And while you are already down by the Gozo salt pans, you can test my rule of thumb that beauty is always around the corner: continue West on the coastal road and you will find the amazing Wied il-Ghasri bay just three minutes later. To find out more about Gozo and Malta, check out my portfolio of photos from Malta.
You can find more information about Leli tal-melh on their web page.