Small, intimate and sleepy

Writing in the today's Sunday Independent UK edition, travel writer Jon Bowd looks back on a visit to Gozo and reflects on good food, Ayurvedic massages, prenatal R&R and divine intervention:

"Sit, sit," said the waiter, ushering us to a corner of the terrace and sending his colleagues away for linen. Within seconds a new table was being squeezed in between the other diners. The couple next to us were shifted along, even though they were in the process of choosing their dinner from a plate groaning with raw fish that included a huge waving lobster. The staff were all smiles as they chatted with Laura, asking her how she was feeling and patting her belly. Even though it was still over four months to the birth, our baby was the most popular customer in the restaurant.

My wife and I had chosen to spend our last holiday before the birth of our first child in Gozo. We'd been burning the candle at both ends in the run up to the new arrival, and Laura was almost at the point where she couldn't fly, so this sleepy little rock seemed perfect. All we wanted was some relaxation with a bit of sea and sun thrown in - Ibiza would have to wait for another year.

Even before our VIP treatment in the restaurant, the holiday had got off to a good start. The villa that would be home for our first week was beautiful. It sat on the edge of a deep gorge and had clear views over a valley, the island's capital city and its tallest man-made structure, the huge cathedral in the village of Xewkija. To put things in perspective, Gozo has a permanent population of around 40,000, with its capital city, Victoria, home to 6,500. Xewkija has just over 3,000 residents, yet in the early 1970s the villagers decided that their church wasn't big enough and so built a new one. The result is the Rotunda, a structure with one of the largest domes in Europe and a nave big enough to seat 4,000. And we could see it from our swimming pool..

..The building itself follows the island's architectural traditions - tons of perfectly crafted limestone and improbably high ceilings - but it is in an annexe that Ta'Pinu's fascinating history is revealed. The walls are covered with bizarre items - a child's back brace, crutches, combat medals, motorbike helmets - each accompanied by a touching, and often funny, letter from the grateful whose prayers were answered. The tales range from the death-defying, like that of the Maltese security guard at the World Trade Center who was guided to safety on 11 September by a statue of the Virgin he brought with him from Ta'Pinu - to the more everyday - such as the story of the woman whose grandson swallowed a marble, which now sits in a glass case with her thanks for saving him from surgery...