Zakynthos
Zakynthos -or Zante – a tale of two halves?
Before we travelled, it was probably already bottom of the pecking order of our favourite islands and our couple of days on the island had to be reduced due to the great “Lekada Palace ferry crisis” – our plans predicated on a ferry that did not get a licence for this summer meant that we only had one full day on the island.
For that day, for old times sake, we took a bus down to Laganas – the islands main resort, and one we had stayed in in 1994. Back then it was becoming “clubby” with bars running late into the night, and proppers trying to entice you in with cheap/free drinks, now that transformation has been complete.
On the main strip there was not a chequered tablecloth to be seen – just a mass of tarmac, concrete and neon signs. The beach itself was a small sandy strip and the sea ever so shallow. Sunbeds dominated the the seafront, I recall enjoying my stay in ’94, but wasn’t wowed by it, now I was glad to have gone back and seen it, but am fairly confident I shan’t be returning. If this was what all of Greece was like, I don’t think I would have fallen in love with the country.
However, I am 57, not 17. If I were the latter I may see the resort in a whole different light.
Zante town itself was pretty enough, and did begin to grow on me.
In the course of our 5 week odyssey, we ate many chicken souvlakis, but possibly none so good as the one on our first evening in Taverna Dimitris.
The town was small, so possibly not enough to keep one’s interest beyond a day or so, but it had a chilled charm
and a nice swimming spot – clear, warm sea, and frequented by the locals, so a good recommendation
We had to leave a day early to catch a ferry from the north of the island to Kefalonia and I’d booked tickets for the evening ferry from Agios Nikolas (the northern one, there are two towns of this name on Zakynthos) as it was the only one available on FerryHopper. But talking to the ticket agent in town, she told us there was a morning ferry as well, and that the bus service from town to Agios Nikolas, to connect with the ferry, had just started running that week. So early in the morning we schlepped (and it was a loooong schlep) from our accommodation, across town and the harbour to the bus stop.
But we discovered that being up and about a 7am had its benefits in the undisturbed beauty of the early morning.
and finally arriving at the bus stop, we dropped our bags and I went in search of a bakery for breakfast, and we shared the best bougatsa of the hoilday.
We caught our bus and, as we journeyed north, we saw different side to Zakynthos, a remote, rugged beauty that may draw me back to explore further in the future.
Arriving at Agios Nikolas I popped to the ticket office – a rusty, beat up old transit van …
to ask if I could use my pre-purchased evening e-ticket on this morning’s sailing and it was agreed that we could.
The ship hooved into view, and we boarded, ready to sail away from Zakynthos
Having had a glimpse of the north of the island, perhaps we will return one day. As an island, it was cheap, the food was good, the south is to be avoided, the town pretty. Still low in my league table of Greek islands, but possibly we’ve not (yet?) seen the best of it.