A Nice Surprise...
My lovely boyfriend picked me up on 21st August at Kefalonia airport. We always have lots to say, but during the long, hot and dusty drive from the airport to our lovely house in Skala, I was told I had a surprise. Now, whether we admit it or not, everyone loves a surprise. For me, its not what the surprise is, but the fact that someone took the time out to think about doing a nice deed for me. I tried my best womanly charm to gleam any little facts about the trip, but was given sketchy details. He eventually fed me a titbit of information and I was told the surprise was on Saturday and that we would need to be up very early.
Saturday duly came, and we woke up at around 5.30am. My body clock was firmly fixed on UK time and it definitely felt like 3.30am when an annoyingly loud alarm bleeping loudly disturbed my peaceful sleep. My Greek boyfriend must have already been awake and was propped up in bed next to me grinning like a Cheshire cat. I could not help but smile back, he has that affect on me, and I began to get excited about where we were going. The great thing about Greek's is their love of coffee, so off he went to brew some of Greece's finest which would no doubt wake me up for the day.
A note on my dressing table told me to put swimwear under my clothes. He had prepared a bag with everything we needed, and an under an hour later we were in the car. The sunrises and sunsets on Kefalonia are spectacular, and well worth an early rise from time to time. We climbed into our trusted car, Bluie, and off we set along the beach road, admiring the sunset. When he pulled and parked around a mile down the road, by Skala beach road, I turned to look at him with a confused expression, I thought we were going out for the day. He just shook his head at me and smiled. He got out of the car and came around to my side and opened the door for me, I took his out reached hand and got butterflies in my tummy as he kissed it. He span me around and I could then see what we had in store. He produced two tickets from his pocket and we joined a queue of around 20 people on the beach. We were going on a boat cruise to the neighbouring island of Zakynthos, or Zante as us Brits know it, for the day courtesy of Captain Vangelis cruises.
Captain Vangelis's glass bottomed boat is a regular landmark (or seamark) on Skala's horizon. Boat trips run daily, weather permitting and they have a wide range of reasonably priced excursions on their vessel. If you check them out on trip advisor they also have good reviews on trip advisor. By the way, I am not getting commission here to sell their cruises! Ilias had chosen Zante, as after 40 years of living next door to it, he had never been. From Mounda Beach area, and along the coastal road towards Argostoli, or from Upper Skala you have a vista of the North East coast of Zante, and it looks so close you could be convinced to swim it in minutes. It is approximately 60km away across the water, and on clear days, which are plentiful, there are striking views. We were very lucky, today the sea was like a mill pond. The crossing to Zante can be bumpy on the nicest of days, but we were to have a smooth ride across on this trip. We were welcomed aboard the boat via a gang plank from the beach to the boat. There were a crew of friendly English and Greek staff to ensure an enjoyable day was had by all. Low key 'Vangelis' was playing in the background, and the crew made announcements in Greek and English about what we could expect to see.
On the way to our first stop, we were lucky to spot a monk seal in the water. The Captain cut the engines to see if we could get a better view of this amazing sea creature. There are fewer than 600 Mediterranean Monk Seals left in existence, making it a critically endangered species. The seal put his head above the water, curiously a couple of times and then got bored and swam off. A great sight nevertheless. We carried on to our first stop, the infamous shipwreck beach. This is the site you see on most of the Greek holiday brochures. An ariel shot of a stunning cove with a shipwreck. So the story goes, allegedly, in 1980, the Greek Navy were chased a ship 'the Panagiotis' through Ionian waters, as it was suspected of having contraband goods in its cargo (wine, tobacco & women!). The ship encountered stormy weather around Zante's North coast and the chase was quickly over as the ship became wrecked on the rocks at Navagio Bay. Today, the shipwreck is only accessible by boat, as our boat took us smoothly into the deep and wide cove, we had a brilliant view of the wreck. Upon anchor, we disembarked for a closer look of the cove. The water here is deep and a sparkling azure blue, so make sure you have your camera to hand. The beach itself is fine shell, and not soft sand as it looks from a distance. In the summer, there will be several boats in the cove at any time and it is fairly busy, but well worth a look. We got around half an hour there for photo opportunities, and made the most of having a walk around the wreck, I found it quite eerie.
We set sail and discovered more of Zante's stunning shoreline, green and lush in places, and extremely rocky in others. Our next port of call were the Blue Caves on the North coast. These caves discovered in 1897 are natural wonders of the island, found in the cliffs below Cape Skinari. The limestone cliffs here have been gently eroded by strong tidal activity, resulting in the formation of these stunning caves. The sea here and around Zante is unusually blue, hence the name the blue caves. This phenomenon is caused by refracting light which is filtered by the sand particles to give the sea its deep blue appearance. I have it on good authority that coming here at sunrise or sunset gives it an even greater magical appearance. The caves are only accessible by boat, and there are many trips that visit the area. It is fantastic for snorkelling and diving here, and regular trips depart from Zante.
Next, we had a swim stop. The weather was hot, and the sea was inviting. I had no hesitation in jumping in the cool Ionian sea from the diving platform at the rear of the ship. There is even the opportunity to dive from the top deck of the boat for the more adventurous or a slide into the sea. After a quick swim, the water was quite cool to stay in for a length of time, I climbed back up the steps to dry off for the next part of the trip. Next, we sailed further along the coast to the resorts of Alykes/Alykanas. Here the boat docks for the afternoon giving you a couple of hours free time to explore the area at your leisure. We chose to go straight to the beach at Alykes. The beach here has crystal clear waters that are very shallow for quite a way out to sea, and because of the shallow water, it is also very warm. There is limited natural shade at this beach, so take an umbrella if you do not want to pay for sunbeds. We had packed our own lunch and enjoyed a beach picnic and enjoyed a refreshing drink at one of the many restaurants along the beach. When our time was up, we boarded our boat for the return trip to Kefalonia. The way back was slightly bumpier than the way out, but it was good fun. We sat on the top deck on the way back, and the spray and waves managed to reach us from there to give you some kind of idea of what to expect. Another swim stop was enjoyed near Spithi Beach just off Kefalonia, before returning to Skala and the end of the trip. This surprise was a great day out, and gives you a taster of what Zante has to offer, highly recommended.
Saturday duly came, and we woke up at around 5.30am. My body clock was firmly fixed on UK time and it definitely felt like 3.30am when an annoyingly loud alarm bleeping loudly disturbed my peaceful sleep. My Greek boyfriend must have already been awake and was propped up in bed next to me grinning like a Cheshire cat. I could not help but smile back, he has that affect on me, and I began to get excited about where we were going. The great thing about Greek's is their love of coffee, so off he went to brew some of Greece's finest which would no doubt wake me up for the day.
A note on my dressing table told me to put swimwear under my clothes. He had prepared a bag with everything we needed, and an under an hour later we were in the car. The sunrises and sunsets on Kefalonia are spectacular, and well worth an early rise from time to time. We climbed into our trusted car, Bluie, and off we set along the beach road, admiring the sunset. When he pulled and parked around a mile down the road, by Skala beach road, I turned to look at him with a confused expression, I thought we were going out for the day. He just shook his head at me and smiled. He got out of the car and came around to my side and opened the door for me, I took his out reached hand and got butterflies in my tummy as he kissed it. He span me around and I could then see what we had in store. He produced two tickets from his pocket and we joined a queue of around 20 people on the beach. We were going on a boat cruise to the neighbouring island of Zakynthos, or Zante as us Brits know it, for the day courtesy of Captain Vangelis cruises.
Captain Vangelis's glass bottomed boat is a regular landmark (or seamark) on Skala's horizon. Boat trips run daily, weather permitting and they have a wide range of reasonably priced excursions on their vessel. If you check them out on trip advisor they also have good reviews on trip advisor. By the way, I am not getting commission here to sell their cruises! Ilias had chosen Zante, as after 40 years of living next door to it, he had never been. From Mounda Beach area, and along the coastal road towards Argostoli, or from Upper Skala you have a vista of the North East coast of Zante, and it looks so close you could be convinced to swim it in minutes. It is approximately 60km away across the water, and on clear days, which are plentiful, there are striking views. We were very lucky, today the sea was like a mill pond. The crossing to Zante can be bumpy on the nicest of days, but we were to have a smooth ride across on this trip. We were welcomed aboard the boat via a gang plank from the beach to the boat. There were a crew of friendly English and Greek staff to ensure an enjoyable day was had by all. Low key 'Vangelis' was playing in the background, and the crew made announcements in Greek and English about what we could expect to see.
On the way to our first stop, we were lucky to spot a monk seal in the water. The Captain cut the engines to see if we could get a better view of this amazing sea creature. There are fewer than 600 Mediterranean Monk Seals left in existence, making it a critically endangered species. The seal put his head above the water, curiously a couple of times and then got bored and swam off. A great sight nevertheless. We carried on to our first stop, the infamous shipwreck beach. This is the site you see on most of the Greek holiday brochures. An ariel shot of a stunning cove with a shipwreck. So the story goes, allegedly, in 1980, the Greek Navy were chased a ship 'the Panagiotis' through Ionian waters, as it was suspected of having contraband goods in its cargo (wine, tobacco & women!). The ship encountered stormy weather around Zante's North coast and the chase was quickly over as the ship became wrecked on the rocks at Navagio Bay. Today, the shipwreck is only accessible by boat, as our boat took us smoothly into the deep and wide cove, we had a brilliant view of the wreck. Upon anchor, we disembarked for a closer look of the cove. The water here is deep and a sparkling azure blue, so make sure you have your camera to hand. The beach itself is fine shell, and not soft sand as it looks from a distance. In the summer, there will be several boats in the cove at any time and it is fairly busy, but well worth a look. We got around half an hour there for photo opportunities, and made the most of having a walk around the wreck, I found it quite eerie.
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| Fiona and Ilias at Navagio Bay (Shipwreck Beach) |
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| The Approach to the Shipwreck
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Next, we had a swim stop. The weather was hot, and the sea was inviting. I had no hesitation in jumping in the cool Ionian sea from the diving platform at the rear of the ship. There is even the opportunity to dive from the top deck of the boat for the more adventurous or a slide into the sea. After a quick swim, the water was quite cool to stay in for a length of time, I climbed back up the steps to dry off for the next part of the trip. Next, we sailed further along the coast to the resorts of Alykes/Alykanas. Here the boat docks for the afternoon giving you a couple of hours free time to explore the area at your leisure. We chose to go straight to the beach at Alykes. The beach here has crystal clear waters that are very shallow for quite a way out to sea, and because of the shallow water, it is also very warm. There is limited natural shade at this beach, so take an umbrella if you do not want to pay for sunbeds. We had packed our own lunch and enjoyed a beach picnic and enjoyed a refreshing drink at one of the many restaurants along the beach. When our time was up, we boarded our boat for the return trip to Kefalonia. The way back was slightly bumpier than the way out, but it was good fun. We sat on the top deck on the way back, and the spray and waves managed to reach us from there to give you some kind of idea of what to expect. Another swim stop was enjoyed near Spithi Beach just off Kefalonia, before returning to Skala and the end of the trip. This surprise was a great day out, and gives you a taster of what Zante has to offer, highly recommended.
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| The Blue Caves, Zakynthos |
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| Life on the Ocean Wave Selfie! |
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