Zante: Part 2

The Zante adventure continues!

Picking up where I left off…

I rose monday morning and hired a quadbike from a rental close to my hotel. Recommended by George actually (the owner of the Canadian hotel where i was staying). A beast and a good way to see the island beyond the spots dependent on the bus service.

So took off. Hadn’t driven a cars in years, let alone a quad abroad and on the other side of the road. A lot of road rage from the traffic, different sport to the UK.

Off to Zante Town the Island capital for the day.

Browsed a few shops for clothes and other bits. Had a cappuccino in a cafe. All at my own slow pace.

Started by waling down the main high street for shopping. A nice wee island town.

I then jumped back on the quad looking for a beach and hopefully a sunbed.

Left the main stretch of the town and along a beautiful coast. In the end I hijacked a sunbed on a beach that was part of one of the hotels. Cheeky move, but no-one else seemed to notice. Even used the hotel toilet and ordered a bottle of beer at the bar.

My sunded had a shade umbrella for cooling down aswell. Was reading my book all day. Funny Jeremy Clarkson anecdotes and signature analogies all about his farm life. Easy reading for the holiday. Finished the book that afternoon actually.

Lovely afternoon and the perfect balance of sunshine and time in the shade under the umbrella with refreshments and snacks.

Headed back to Laganas, parked the quad back at the hotel. On the hunt for dinner. Found a nice spot at the other end (from my hotel) of the Laganas strip. Quiet for had a pint and ordered a burger. Small waves coasting in on the sandlines. Talkative host. Good burger too, red meat instead of seafood this time. Variety being the spice of life en’ all.

Later that night, I was out with an old school raver here called Lisa. Real good vibe about her. A nightclub on the strip called Zeros. See the vid below:

Both loving Tocas Miracle dropping!

Damn good fun! DJ even threw in a few garage tunes. Fab night! A late one let’s put it that way.

Back at the hotel the next day; chilled by the pool and listened to very different tunes. Some toasty sun again aswell 😊.

80s music like Billy Ocean, Carribean Queen and Toto songs; Hold the Line and Africa. 80s cockneys on the sunbeds with cocktails or G & Ts in one hand and a fag in the other. A real Sexy Beast vibe. Almost Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Radio!

And what did I do? Exactly the same as everyone else. Ordered a Mojito an sparked up a Camel. Then just on cue they played Billy Ocean; “When the going gets tough, the tough get going”.

Stayed at the hotel all day and night that day and soaked up el sol.

The next day day was another boat trip. This one for the full day. The coach picked me up and took me to Zante Town early in the morning. Boarded the ship from Zante Town main port at 9am.

This was the Voutirakos Cruise with the Pirate Ship. And that’s what it looks like.

Started chatting to a guy called Davey who it turned out also lived in Glasgow like me and close aswell. We sat on the top deck of the boat. Took a few snaps and videos. The ocean was a perfect shade of blue as you can see here. You can also see the Jolly Rodger Pirate ship flag at the front, flapping in the wind.

Could already tell it was gonna be a fucking good day.

We stopped at the Keri Caves again first. Fab to see them again. Then close by, we stopped again for an open water swim for half an hour. Perfect for a dip. Got back on-board and chatted to Davey a bit more. He thought I was some ozzie dude 🤣. Even more so when I cracked open my first cold can of lager before lunchtime. We saw the Keri Caves again which are fantastic on any day.

The next stop after that was at Xigia beach for another open water swim up to the shore. A diamond of a spot. Peace.

About an hour later we arrived at the shipwreck. Big part of the day. More stops for photos and videos. The guide talked us through the history of these remains of washed up boat on this coast.

Then another stop by rocks for a final sea swim. Jumped off the top of the boat this time; kamikaze style!

Back on the boat for another beer with Davey. We were then heading back.

After all that excitement, needed some dinner and relaxed evening by the pool bar. Drink in one hand, Camel cigarette in the other. Picking up a book every now and again. That’s a holiday man.

Next morning had some poached eggs and continental bacon for breakfast. I was half board, so breakfast was included in my package. Washed down with coffee.

I met davey again at lunch time. We went to his holiday hangout; a sandwich bar called JPs. The owner was a brummie lass called Emma who I met already selling tickets at the doors of the Loft. Good laugh, salt of the earth banter! We both had a baguette and a pint. Chatted for hours.

Then a distressed young english lad came to us and said he had had all of his money stolen, we both try to help him and provide support. Only 18 and it later became apparent that it was the mate he was on holiday with that done it. The 3 of us took him under our wing; at 18 that sort of thing can happen to anyone and he was a nice lad.

We were out that night drinking and made plans to go to Turtle Island the next day. Me, Davey and the lad Alfie.

And thats exactly what we did that afternoon. We walked to the furthest south point of the strip on the coast. Booked a Speed Boat trip across and jumped on board.

First time on a speed boat for me; really makes you feel alive. But there was no way I was talking pictures of video while we were moving, I’m far too clumsy for that.

Speed Boat!

We landed on Turtle Island and cracked open a beer. At this point, we were travelling not just on holiday.

We sat down and looked around. All of us were in awe of beautiful and peaceful it was here and talked about just that. Days like this make you present and in the moment.