JJ's mini travel escape

Friday 21st July:-

Homeward bound!!  The taxi picked us up on time and it took about 30 minutes to the airport.  When you queue at the airline desk to check in your suitcases, they don’t actually take your case – they weigh it then you have to go to a different queue for them to take it.

Once checked in and through security there is a duty free shop and one food place.  Unfortunately, not gluten free food available.

A good flight back and just below is England’s coastline.

A taxi home and weather actually wasn’t too bad.

Summary:-

Zante is a beautiful island with lots to do – definitely recommend a visit.  The only downfall for our working holiday was the reliability of the internet but it didn’t spoil our time.

Our main word for the holiday was ‘Beautimous’!!!

Thursday 20th July:-

Our last day before we travel home tomorrow.

Today consisted of a bit of everything.  A little IM, a walk to Alykes, swimming, snorkeling and of course eating and drinking. Making the most of the beautiful surroundings.

Alykes is the next village along from Alykanas and is a nice walk either along the beach or along the canal.  Similar to Alykanas, it has bars, restaurants and shops with a lot of holiday apartments to choose from.

A walk back to our apartment found mummy cat with one of her kittens – very cute but they are wild and survive on whatever tit bits they are given or find.

Our last meal in Zante was at the Neraida restaurant in Alykanas and what better outfit to wear than my rainbow trousers!!  A holiday must. They look odd but are so comfortable and protect my legs against mosquitoes.

A lovely meal, very friendly staff and a walk back to the apartment to pack………………

Wednesday 19th July:-

A bus trip to Zakynthos town.  A frappe and breakfast in the main town was the plan.  There is one restaurant in Solomos Square and some others just a short walk away.  Just a note – a lot of them do not open until 10am, so don’t expect an early breakfast.  There are a lot more though along the front and they seem to be open earlier.  We had a frappe whilst we waited for them to open for breakfast.  The frappe’s here are delicious.

The omelette we ordered for breakfast was awful!  They had cremated it and all you could taste was fat.  We both felt quite sick after eating it and I had only managed half.  When choosing a restaurant, check what others are eating in there to see if you can spot the quality, we didn’t do this.  I am left wondering how you can possibly ruin an omelette but they made a great job of it…………..

There is one main street with little shops and cafe’s along it.  Most of it pedestrianised apart from the random mad motorbikes using it and some delivery vehicles.

A bus and walk back to the apartment and we pass the Lemon Tree restaurant – with a palm tree opposite which we nicknamed the ‘booby tree’ – maybe it is just our minds!!

A nice meal at the Shoestring restaurant with the beautiful view and a stunning sunset.

Tuesday 18th July:-

Work and sunbathe day – the sun has come out today and there are no clouds.  What a difference a day makes!!  It is already a lot warmer than yesterday, back to our summer clothes.

A catch up on our washing and I noticed this little guy on our balcony.  This is a Cicada that I mentioned in my earlier post.  They make a really loud noise but before now I couldn’t get a good enough picture.

Chucky the Cicada

We have nicknamed him Chucky and his markings are amazing and his wings so delicate.  I thought he may have been injured as he was sat on the floor for enough time for me to get this photo but he flew away after a while, back with his mates to make that really loud (sometimes annoying) sound.

Another meal at one of favourites – Neraida located on Alykanas beach.  They do a mixed BBQ meat off the spit for €13.50 but there is enough food for two people.  It certainly makes eating out more reasonable if you are able to share, most of the restaurants we have eaten in have served up big portions, so it is possible.

Monday 17th July:-

Down to 25 degrees today, and a tad chilly!!!  It was very windy so it felt colder that it was, we even had to put on our ‘just in case’ long sleeve tops.

Work day today, then over to Epsilon for some refreshments.

Even with the unsettled day, Kefalonia was at it’s clearest.  We even spotted some more small islands that we hadn’t noticed before and we could see mainland Greece off to the East.

To finish the day we had the most amazing sunset………………. as Julian would say – Beautimous!!

Sunday 16th July:-

Another cloudy day and a little bit cooler but we have organised to go to Alykanas beach today to swim and sunbathe.

Alykanas beach is a nice stretch of beach and not too busy.  There are sunbeds to choose from or stretches of sand without if you want to do your own thing.

Whilst on the beach we had some rain but it was still warm enough to swim and sunbathe in between the rain and clouds!

A nice meal in town and we made our way back to Old Alykanas.

Over the evening the clouds formed and we were able to watch a thunder storm over mainland Greece.

Saturday 15th July:-

A few clouds in the sky today and we don’t seem to have our normal view of Kefalonia out of our window.  A bit of work this morning and then a walk into Alykanas.

This has been my go to outfit whilst working at the apartment.  It is so comfortable and cool.  I actually bought it from Benidorm but they have similar things here in Zante.

My main outfit to go out in has been my dungaree shorts (from Primark) – I have been able to wear them with the bib down to walk around during the day and with the bib up and a summery top for the evenings if we have gone straight out to eat. Surprisingly, even though they are jean material they have been cool enough even when temperatures raised 41 degrees and they have the practicability of pockets to carry things in.

A walk into Alykanas and we finish the evening in Sakisfaction and watched the sun go down.

Friday 14th July:-

Feeling more human today!!

Today we decided to catch the bus to Zakynthos town.  So we got up early for our walk into Alykanas to catch the 7.40 am bus. The sunrise was absolutely beautiful from our balcony.

The bus came about 8 am which apparently is really good and has been known to be a lot later.  The bus fare to Zakynthos town is €1.80 per person each way, they drop you at the main bus station and there is a path opposite to walk down into town.  We made our way to the harbour to inquire about ferries to Kefalonia.

We were told you could get a ferry from Zakynthos town to Kefalonia and yes you can if you have 6 hrs to spare.  It would mean two separate ferries taking 3 hrs each way – one to mainland Greece then another to Kefalonia.  The direct ferry goes from the north of the island (Agios Nikolaos Schinari) which takes approx one hour 20 mins each way.

We found Solomos square, named after Dionysios Solomos, the poet whose words later formed the lyrics of the Greek National Anthem.  The church of Saint Nikolaos which dates back to 1561 actually survived the strong 1953 earthquake.

We then caught another bus to Kalamaki beach for a swim.  You can only sunbath at the front of the beach as the turtles lay their eggs towards the back.  All along you see these little wooden indicators.

Two buses later and we are back in Alykanas.  A nice day seeing more of the island.  The buses aren’t so regular in the afternoon but you can pick up a timetable from the bus station to plan your route back.