A turtle spotting boat trip on Zante – in Greece

June 22, 2010 by admin
Filed under Greece, Leisure, Sightseeing, Zakynthos, video

On our recent trip to the Greek island of Zakynthos or Zante we took a boat trip through Laganas bay, famed as a nesting area for the Loggerhead or Caretta Caretta turtles. Sadly we didn’t spot any turtles on this trip but we did have a great day out sunbathing, swimming and snorkelling around the little coves and sea caves along the coast.

Porto Roma on Zakynthos

We started at Porto Roma where there is a hotel and terrace overlooking the small harbour and beach. The catamaran was waiting for us moored off-shore and we were ferried from the jetty by a tiny rubber boat that you could just squeeze four people into. “Don’t worry – it’s very safe” quipped the skipper as I clung on to my rucksack with all my camera equipment inside – “we call it the Titanic!”. It didn’t bode well when the rung of the ladder on the side of the boat collapsed as my husband climbed aboard. With 20 people I wondered how we would all fit on to the catamaran, but soon everyone had arranged themselves around the front of the boat, on benches along the side and under cover at the back. I liked the fact that the boat had a cabin and a shady area where you could get out of the sun, unlike some of the completely open boats we saw going out into the bay with no room to move around or any shade.

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On the way out Yannis Vardakastanis, whose company Nature World Travel had organised the trip, talked to everyone about his work with the sea turtles and the Earth Sea and Sky volunteer and information programme he runs to conserve their habitat. Unfortunately the numbers are dropping every year due increasing tourism and development on the turtle nesting sites. Laganas bay has a wide sandy beach that was perfect for turtle nesting with warm, shallow water for turtles to soak up the sun and develop their eggs. Now the large beach is less used by the nesting turtles as half of it is built up with apartments and hotels and the other half has a busy airport runway behind it. The turtles have been forced to move their nesting sites to other smaller beaches like Dafni and Gerkas, but even these beaches are under threat from development due to tourism.

We powered along past the cliffs and rounded the Gerakas headland with the protected turtle nesting beach, where no development is allowed and into the wide sweep of Laganas bay. We crossed the mouth of the bay, past two islands that even looked like turtles – the second one called Pelouzo has a small beach that is a protected nesting site for the loggerhead turtles. We passed around the furthest end of the bay and round Keri point where there’s a lighthouse. I’d been here before to see the view from the cliff over the sea, but this time we were looking up at the tall limestone cliffs and into a semicircle of cave with a small beach inside. The water is intensely turquoise and we jumped off the boat and snorkelled around to see the small shoals of fish darting through the water. As we swam into the cave over large round white stones, another small boat, rented from Laganas or the harbour at Keri bobbed up and down, keeping us company.

Heather with Yannis from Nature world travel

Catamaran trip around Laganas bay

After everyone had swum around the catamaran and jumped in as many times as they like, we moved back the way we had come past sea arches and small caves that are perfect for a small boat to explore. We stopped again by the sea caves on the Pelouzo island, but Yannis explained that we would not stop on the beach there as it was protected for turtle nests, even though we saw other boats ignoring the ban and landing. It seems that the Government funded National Marine Park is overstretched and does not have the resources to stop local businessmen pushing the boundaries to make a living.

Last year Yannis and his volunteers counted 800 turtle nests, a decline from the 1000 they counted the previous year and the 1300 of a few years before. As each female turtle may make 2 or 3 nests in different locations, Yannis estimates that there may only be 250-300 female turtles coming to nest in the area now. The statistics didn’t bode well for the turtles – only one in 1000 hatchlings will survive and then will take 25 years to reach maturity before returning to lay eggs on Zante. With estimated numbers dropping so low, it’s no wonder that Yannis feels that every turtles is precious and is angry when he finds turtles that have been injured or even killed in fishermen’s nets or by boat propellers.

Catamaran trip from Porto Roma

Fishing boats at Porto Roma

I jumped off the boat with my family and enjoyed swimming into the sea caves, although the caves on Pelouzo island were wild and less inviting. Then once again we returned to the boat and the catamaran turned into the bay, moving slowly through the waters, hoping to spot some turtles. There were several other boats around and as on other safaris and whale watching trips I’ve been on, they are in radio contact with each other if they spot any turtles. Although we kept a sharp look-out, we didn’t see any, although on most trips they do spot one or two. Yannis doesn’t guarantee a turtle spotting on his trips, preferring to make the whole day an enjoyable experience with the emphasis on the scenery and the swimming. However, many boats offering shorter trips from Laganas do offer a money back guarantee to see a turtle, which encourages the boats to harass the turtles and pen them in so that people can get a good view.

I would have loved to see some turtles, but was a great day out regardless and I prefer to support the sustainable approach to tourism that Yannis advocates. We returned back to Porto Roma by 4pm feeling relaxed and sun soaked but thankfully not burned. Although these trips are an expensive treat for a family at €50 per adult and €25 for children, I think it’s worth doing something like this once on your holiday, especially if you can be sure that the organisers are taking a responsible approach to conservation. You can book the catamaran tour we took through Nature World Travel in advance – contact details on their website, but be prepared to be flexible on the day, as sometimes trips are postponed when the weather is windy and the seas rough. Shorter trips also run from Laganas, but you should try to book with a responsible operator that respects the rules of the National Marine Park, and doesn’t harass the turtles or venture into prohibited areas of the bay.

Disclosure: Yannis kindly gave me a free place on the boat trip although I paid for my family.

Is this the best beach in the world? – Navagio on Zakynthos

June 18, 2010 by admin
Filed under Beaches, Europe, Greece, Leisure, Nature, Zakynthos

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When I was idly scanning through one of those ubiquitous ‘best beaches in the world’ articles, I came across Navagio on the Greek island of Zakynthos or Zante as one of the list. Huh! I thought – clearly written by some journalist who’s done a quick bit of Google research and has never been there.

Smuggler's cove or Navagio on Zante in Greece

But then as in all my years of visiting Zakynthos, I had never been there either, I thought that on this trip I might go and take a peek for myself. Only trouble is that Navagio or Smuggler’s Cove is only accessible by boat and is a stopping off point for every boat trip around the north of the island. The beach is notable for the rusty old wreck half buried in the sand of a ship that went aground in the 1980s, while supposedly smuggling cigarettes. There are probably many picturesque, remote beaches like this around the Greek coastline, but the presence of the wreck there seems to add to the photogenic appeal and make this one of the most photographed beaches in Greece.

As we weren’t planning an all day boat trip just to check it out, we took a drive up to the north end of the island where there’s a viewing point for the beach. You might imagine from this shot that I was standing on a windswept cliff among wildflowers and thyme, but the reality is that I was perched on a little fenced metal viewing platform that has been created just to help you get the postcard shot. We parked on the cliff top car park, walked down the road past the bar, past the ice cream van with the noisy generator and past the stalls selling local produce, oil and honey. Then we took our turn with the other visitors on the tiny platform to take this photo.

Heather, near Smuggler's cove in Zante, Greece

After I’d taken my postcard shot we spotted a path winding down the cliff side around the other side of the cove, that looked as though it might lead down to the beach. We decided to explore but after a few twists and turns the path got narrower and steeper until we gave up. Clearly someone had the idea of creating an alternative viewing point but we didn’t dare cllimb too far down the cliff and couldn’t see where the path ended. A number of people had also missed the tiny viewing point at the top and walked down thinking they would get a view of the Smuggler’s cove, and weren’t very pleased when they realised it led to nowhere. But I think that on that twisty path with the scent of pine resin, thyme and chamomile we were closer to what I love about Greece than the ice cream van and the viewing point. So - best beach in the world or just another pretty picture? I’ll let you decide.

This pretty picture is offered as part of Photo Friday hosted at Delicious Baby – head on over to find more Friday photos to inspire your weekend.

Postcard from Zante – ships in the harbour

June 5, 2010 by admin
Filed under Europe, Greece, Leisure, Zakynthos

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Zante town harbour isn’t one of those sleepy, picturesque island harbours where the fishing boats bob up and down and not much else happens. It’s a big busy harbour with ships of all size. On any given day you might find a number of cargo ships in harbour – an island of this size has to be kept well-supplied especially when its numbers swell in summer with holidaymakers both Greek and other nationalities.

Sailing boat in Zante harbour

Yacht in Zante harbour

You’ll find the odd cruise liner as well, channelling people towards the expensive cafes in the main square with the waiters urging you in, even though you’ll only need to take a few steps down the side streets to find the old fashioned places that my husband loves.

If it’s a photo opportunity you’re after, you can find the fishing boats with their mustard yellow nets moored up along the main quay, together with the odd floating palace that celebrities love to rent for the summer. Walk further and up the main pier and you’ll fnd all the smaller yachts from all over the world – perhaps you’ll get chatting to a copper-tanned couple on board one of them and find they’ve sailed half around the world or that they’re spending the summer sailing around the Greek islands. This is what we dream of – of lazy days bobbing in some little cove, of exploring each new island you visit.

Heather in Zante town harbour

Fishing boats in Zante town harbour

Walk on further and you’ll find a small deserted cafe where you can sit with a coffee and then further still the tip of the harbour wall with perhaps a lone fisherman where you can watch the yachts motor out before setting sail around the island or even further. If you’re a sailor, Zante harbour is a place you could come to dream.