Friday Photo – Catfish and Anaconda on the Rio Bobonaza in Ecuador
October 31, 2008 by HeatherCowper
Filed under Ecuador, Fishing, Nature, World
Today I’m joining in the Friday Photo at Delicious Baby to bring you a photo from my travels with a story behind it.
This is the picture I took of Ingaro Gualinga, who was one of our guides from the rainforest community of Sarayaku, on the river trip I took in Ecuador last October. We had stopped on a sandbank to camp for the night, when a local fisherman approached to show us the two enormous catfish he had caught on that stretch of the river.
The man told us the story of how he had been fishing from that very sandbank, when he had been attacked by an Anaconda, the large boas that live on the water’s edge and coil themselves round their prey and crush them to death. Luckily, his wife heard the barking of his dogs and came to rescue him by shooting the snake in the head.
The Anaconda are the creatures most feared by the local people who live by these Amazon tributaries, and later we were pointed out a muddy bank below a military post, where a soldier had been killed by one. Even so they are very rare and our guide Ingaro admitted that he had only seen one a few times in his lifetime.
As we girls walked round the curve of the sandbank to find a more private place to wash, the boatmen frantically called us back. We must stay beside the camp to wash, they advised us, and suddenly we knew the reason why.
You can see the other Friday photos on Delicious Baby here.
Related posts
Friday photo – sleeping in a canoe in Ecuador
Friday photo – a toffee seller in Banos, Ecuador
Friday photo – a Wika tatoo in Ecuador
View all my Ecuador posts
You can see my photos from the river trip in Ecuador on Flickr here.
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My top three beaches on Zakynthos
If you’re looking for beautiful beaches on the Greek island of Zakynthos (also known as Zante), you’ll be spoilt for choice, but I’m only going to share with you my personal top three. Even at the end of the season when it may not be hot enough to swim, it’s great to walk along them and feel the sun on your face and the sand between your toes.
Bear in mind that I normally visit the island in low season and this October I practically had the beaches to myself. If you’re there in July and August you’ll get a different experience, as all the beaches are busy, but some are more packed than others.
Gerakas beach
At the south-east tip of the island, this beach is part of the Marine park of Zakynthos and is known for the Carretta Carretta turtles that nest there. No building is allowed above the beach and sun-loungers are kept well away from the nesting sites. If you’re lucky you may see turtles while swimming from the beach. There’s a nice taverna nearby and an information centre for the turtles next door, run by the Earth, Sea and Sky conservation network.
Dafni beach
The steep and winding dirt road down to Dafni beach is not for the faint-hearted and personally I’d not risk it on a moped. Because of the difficult access and the fact that it is also protected for the turtles, this is likely to be the least crowded, even in high season. It’s a wide and long beach and there are just two or three beach bars where you can sip your cool drink in the shade while gazing out to sea.
Porto Zoro beach
This is a smaller beach with easy road access near Vassilikos but I like the fact that it is not too developed, with just a couple of beach bars. The large rocks at one end are great for swimming and snorkeling around.
Because I’m visiting my sister in Argassi, all these beaches are at the south-east end of the island, but there are plenty more lovely ones along the north-east coast. The best way to explore them is with a hire car, although there are also public buses that run to most of them a few times each day.
Related Posts
A hunter’s view on Zakynthos
Turtles and Plastic Bags
Blue Fishing Boats on Zakynthos
See my photos of Zakynthos on Flickr
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How to find a real Greek taverna – on Zakynthos
October 26, 2008 by HeatherCowper
Filed under Eating and drinking, Europe, Greece, Zakynthos
If you’re on the Greek island of Zakynthos (also known as Zante) and Yiayia’s not cooking the Sunday lunch (that’s Greek for Granny) then you’ll be looking for a traditional taverna for your meal out with the family.
You’ll want somewhere that serves the Greek specialities, not just the versions of Moussaka that they serve up for the tourists. When I picked up the business card at To Kartoutso , where we ate today and saw not a word of English on it, I knew this was the real deal.
First tip in finding this kind of place is to get in your car and drive away from the tourist resort, or if you’re in town, head away from the main drag down the side streets. Of course my sister took us to To Kartoutso but you can always ask the Greek locals where they like to eat with their family.
Take any recommendations from your travel rep with a pinch of salt as they may send you to somewhere that is giving them commission in return for customers. Obviously you should also look for somewhere busy with local cars parked outside and locals enjoying their meal inside.
Second good sign when we sat down was that there was no long printed menu, but the waitress explained that they have a few freshly cooked dishes each day which were written on a board.
Today the choice was slow cooked lamb with spinach and egg sauce, beef cooked with lemons and chicken stuffed with tomatoes and local cheese. Then there were meze of fried cheese pastries, garlicky aubergine dip and fried bread crostini with peppers and capers.
They were just the sort of dishes you’d expect Yiayia to cook with the produce she’d find in her back garden.
To Kartoutso
Tel 26950 53115 or 6944265235 (phone first as it may not be open all year round)
Directions to get there: From the road between Argassi and Zante town, take the Kalamaki road, travel 200m from the turn-off, past the newly built housing estate on the left, you’ll see it on the right hand side of the road.
Related Posts
Sunday morning Greek coffee and Glika on Zakynthos
Let me introduce you to Zakynthos
A hunter’s view in Zakynthos
See all my photos from Zakynthos
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