Zakynthos

Just as we were waving goodbye to James and Katharine in Kefalonia, we discovered our friends Hugo and Charlotte were about to arrive in Zakynthos for a week. We had been debating whether to venture further south, so this made our decision easy!

We made landfall at Climati Beach, dropping anchor in the middle of the bay with plenty of room to swing. After a restful, still night, we moved a little up the coast the next morning to Agios Nikolaos harbour and took a berth on the town quay. 

​The next day, the heat was unbearable, so we rented a car with air conditioning and set off to explore Zakynthos. Our first stop was the obligatory tourist destination: Shipwreck Beach. I was sceptical about such an unoriginal itinerary, but it really is breathtaking. Back in the AC, we drove south towards the famous turtle nesting beaches at the bottom of the island. En route, we passed a water park and felt the kids would never forgive us if we didn't stop -we never made it to the turtle beach.

To our surprise, Zante Water Village had an endearing retro charm. We spent a few happy hours there until Zefi and I had a splat on one of faster slides. With our confidence slightly bruised, we took the opportunity to leave and see where else our road trip might take us.

We set out in search of an olive oil museum recommended by a friend, but instead stumbled upon a charming farm tool museum and café, so we stopped to take a look. To the children's delight, they had toys to play with and pet tortoises roaming around. This kept them happy for a while as we sampled some local Zakynthos craft beer. The enterprising owner sold us some olive oil and his mum's homemade cake, then sent us off in search of a nearby monastery. Following his instructions obediently, we came across the most enchanting place:

Now a convent but originally a 16th-century monastery, Panagia Spiliotissa in Zakynthos was built after an icon of the Virgin Mary was discovered in a nearby cave. I couldn't help noticing how the icon bears a slight resemblance to Ecce Homo—the botched ecclesiastical restoration that went viral a few years ago.. so we bought a little copy to add to Dragonfly's art collection.

The convent had a feeling of peace and serenity that Theodore shattered with shrieks of agony as he bashed his knee on a step. Luckily the well equipped nuns took good care of him.

After an unpredictable but action-packed day, we returned to the little harbour where Dragonfly was berthed. We were obliged to eat at the local restaurant in exchange for mooring on the quay. The next day, we planned to meet up with Hugo and Charlotte, friends from home whose two little girls attend the same school.

Just before lunch, we dropped anchor a stone's throw from Mikro Nisi, the restaurant Hugo had suggested. We were getting ready to go ashore when we spotted the four of them swimming out to us. It was wonderful to see Hugo and Charlotte again, and Zefi and Dor were particularly excited to see Jemima and Arabella. After a good lunch and catch up, the kids feasted on ice cream and we all piled back to the boat for a swim.

Eventually it was time for farewells and we were off once again. This time we had perfect sailing conditions as we crossed back to Kefalonia and anchored in a wide calm bay for a peaceful night.

After a bit of radio control boat racing and Jenga we were all exhausted. Sleep was a struggle though as it was hot and still throughout the night.

Just before we set off further north in the morning, we realised that an old bench cushion—originally destined for the bin—turned our passarelle into the ultimate waterslide!