Day 1 + Day 2 - arrived and off to Zakynthos

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Day 1 + Day 2

Yesterday was straight up exhausting. 5hr layover in Montreal only to then leave 40min late, after sitting on the tarmac full and ready to go for +30 min (they were doing a systems upgrade? Really?) Not much of an effective upgrade, about 20 tvs didn’t work at all, mine included LOL. Really glad I had downloaded The Witcher and a few other short funny things - a +9hr flight with no entertainment would have been disastrous lol. As usual I didn't really manage to sleep... idk why I'm fine to sleep on trains and busses, but the planes never cooperate.


Athens airport is pretty lowkey, if you like. I grabbed some bagel sandwich thing for lunch (was good!) and went to pick up my rental car. I'm using Avance this whole trip - jury is out on them, but fingers crossed! Funny enough I have the same car as I did in Norway... just a solid 5-6 years older lol. It seems... in good working order, but oof the scratches (mostly small ones). They did a pretty thorough walk around and noted the major scratches (as did I) and off I went! Of course, it being ancient I couldn't connect my iPhone so LOL directions were... an adventure? Yes, let's go with adventure 😉



I somehow managed to get to my hotel 2.5hrs away in this tiny little village past Patras (Castella Beach Hotel, lovely friendly staff + amazing AC lol) and then I pretty much just crashed and hung out at the hotel which is right on the water. I wouldn't say it's exactly a "beach" with all the rocks, but there were sun chairs and it's right on the water. There was a cute and curious dog and an aloof cat wandering around the hotel grounds which was nice. Started reading a book, had supper and a local beer too, I was set.


And then today the real fun begins! It’s nice in the morning before the heat hits, especially with a breeze - I had breakky by the water and then drove down to Kyllini for the ferry to Zakynthos. Lol my god that parking fiasco - it's organized, but they shove you in like sardines. I got stuck on the upper deck (idk how my car got up the ramp - it was def more than 45 degree incline lol) and then they SQUISH you like there’s no tomorrow. You have to get out before the next car goes in beside you bc doors are literally like 2 inches apart. So so SO nervous for scratches… and also very glad that I’m not driving on any more ferries after my return from Zakynthos. I found myself a shady outdoor seat and stayed there most of the time - until some random Greek guy tried chatting me up and things got weird (context: Zakynthos has become a party island these past few years). I left to go inside for a bit and to check out the other areas of the boat. When I came back out he came to sit near me again... sigh. He made a few last ditch efforts, but thankfully left me alone when we went to our cars. (Def used the usual 'I'm meeting up with friends!' line)



ANYWAY. The actual view from the ferry ride was great. It’s amazing what the sun haze does to the horizon - the hidden mountains, basically - all you see is the faint trace of the land, so faint it’s like a mirage. That mediterranean though sun, oof. Considering I usually burn day 1 of no matter where I go in the summer, I can't believe it's Day 2 and still not burned. So much sunscreen.


I arrived on the island and started exploring right away. I headed down along the east coast, towards Gerakas beach. Wow. First off (relatively) super long beach - in the center you could rent chairs/umbrellas as usual or for the most part it was sandy and you could set up your own stuff. I wasn't planning on staying all day, so I just brought a towel to set up shop on the sand. The water is crystal clear, pristine and perfect temp! I truly was just happy to sit there and listen to the water lap in, rotated with walking through the water.


I also went to the turtle rescue/info place right down the road - they nest along the island, lots of protected areas, etc so it was interesting to read about that (in the shade, bless). On the beach they actually have the whole back area (closest to the bluffs) protected and roped off - it's where the turtles nest.


Next up, I went to Porto Zorro - the road was stupid steep and cross-back, I ended up parking half way down because there was an end spot free to pull into lol. I'm glad that was my choice because there was nothing else near the bottom and turning around at the bottom looked nightmarish too. Anyway, the beach was nothing special here. Some cool rock formations, that's about it.


I was going to stop at Argassi on the way back but the traffic and parking situation was atrocious so I retreated to my Airbnb which is in the middle of nowhere, in a vineyard. Literally lol. It was surprisingly easy to find the main area of it... the host has good pics but then it's like at the end of the road just park under a tree and you're there! But... I was not?? haha. I got out of the car bc there were like 3 paths to take... I didn't want to drive down the wrong one. I clearly chose the wrong one and some guy was like you look very lost lol. Thankfully he's the hosts' brother and was like yeah, 2nd path good to go!

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