I returned from Malta and Gozo filled with emotions and impressions that will stay with me for a long time. It was a trip that once again reminded me that traveling is so much more than sightseeing. It is a form of wellbeing – a way to return to myself through places, scents, textures, light, sounds, and the stories hidden in the landscape.
A journey for all senses in its purest form. This time I felt as if Malta welcomed me like an old friend – gently, warmly, giving me space to fall into the rhythm of the island and listen to its voice.
Temples that breathe history
This trip was also special because I finally managed to see almost all the ancient temples on Malta and Gozo – places that for some are just “piles of stones,” but for me remain a record of magic and the extraordinary abilities of ancient communities. One of the greatest joys was experiencing Ħaġar Qim – a site that has always resonated with feminine energy and the rhythm of nature. These stones truly whisper. You can feel in them the warmth of the earth, the movement of the sun, ancient prayers and hopes laid here thousands of years ago. Standing there, I felt something that can only be described as a homecoming.
Another dream came true when I finally visited Ġgantija on Gozo, a place that had been on my “must-see” list for years… a space where time simply ceases to exist.
Hypogeum – a descent into another dimension
But the true highlight of the trip was the Hypogeum Ħal-Saflieni. A place that feels more like a portal to another dimension than an archaeological site. Imagine three underground levels carved into rock over 5,000 years ago. Silence that is not absence, but presence. A temperature that has remained unchanged for millennia. And acoustics so perfect that a single sentence can sound like a voice rising from the depths of the earth.
Returning to Gozo – meeting an earlier version of myself
From the very beginning, I sensed that it wasn’t Malta but Gozo that was my real destination. This small island had lived in me for years – an echo of experiences from eight or nine years ago, moments that were anything but ordinary. I returned with curiosity, wondering how I would find those places after so many years, now as a different person. And when I visited them, one by one, I felt something extraordinary: the places were the same, but I was not. The old trembling, the intensity, the overwhelming emotions – they were gone. Instead, there was a quiet understanding. Gozo once gave me exactly what I needed at that moment in my life. Those experiences belonged to that earlier version of me – and it is good that they remain in that time. Now I could simply let the memories speak and realize that the magic I longed for hadn’t stayed on the island. It was within me all along.
Small everyday wonders
Aside from the temples, I also visited places that form Malta’s mosaic of spirituality and history: St. Paul’s Grotto in Rabat, the solitary chapel of St. Mary Magdalene on the Dingli Cliffs, the mysterious cart ruts carved into the ground, and towns whose architecture feels soft, pastel, embracing, full of light. Each of these places left a small but meaningful emotion within me. And each reminded me that travel is not only about reaching a destination, but about attentiveness – to the scent of the sea, the touch of stone, the colors of the walls, the stories etched into the landscape.
Travel as wellbeing – a return to oneself
This journey once again showed me that traveling is not an escape from life, but a return to its essence. When I set out on the road, all my senses awaken. I begin to see more, feel more deeply, listen more attentively. The places I visit act like mirrors – reflecting what in me is alive, necessary, transforming. Journey for all senses is not just a phrase. It is the way I experience the world. And Malta and Gozo – just like years ago – reminded me that magic is everywhere, as long as we know how to notice it. And that the most important things happen not outside, but within. I came back calmer, fuller, grateful. And soon I’ll set off on another journey to places of power. Because traveling is my way of caring for myself. My path to balance. A way of nurturing the joy of life. A way of discovering the world – and most of all, myself.
