Sightseeing in Zakinthos

Zakynthos has an image everyone has seen: white sand in a closed bay, sheer walls, and the rusted hull of a ship in the middle. That is Navagio, Shipwreck Beach; the freighter was driven ashore here in 1980, and ever since the only way in has been by sea — no road, no path down, the boat entering through a narrow gap. There is a viewing platform on the cliff above, and sightseeing tours usually combine both angles: first the view from the top, then mooring below.

The other half of the island is what survived. The earthquake of 1953 flattened nearly all the Venetian building, so the old things are looked for in the villages: Kambi with its huge cross above the western cliffs, Agalas with the Damianos cave, monasteries in the hills. The town of Zakynthos was rebuilt to the old drawings, and Solomos square with the church of Saint Dionysios looks Venetian, though it is less than a century old.

The third line is the water around it. The Blue Caves at Cape Skinari light the sea from below and hold a colour that looks unnatural; Marathonisi in Laganas bay is known as Turtle Island; Cameo is joined to the shore by a wooden footbridge. Many routes end with sunset at Keri, by the Mizithres rocks, or with a Greek night in a hill village — no longer sightseeing, but a way to close the day.