Going Solo

Tag: laganas

  • Zante Part 3: The Finale!

    The final days in Zante were something special.

    Back to the food, back to the Mythos Beer! Lovely breakfast of greek pancakes with chocolate sauce. A sweet treat.

    Lounged about by the pool for a bit. Had a greek salad for lunch. It was lush posh nosh!

    Friendly staff at the Canadian aswell. Smiley greek faces of all different ages.

    Soaked up some sun by the pool at the hotel most of the day. Read a bit. Chilled all day.

    Went for a tasty Calamari dinner with a glass of wine in the evening. This was a greek restaurant on the Laganas strip.

    Finished the day at a Shisha bar round the corner from the hotel.

    Woke up early the next day and headed out to Kalamaki for a 2nd time. Enjoyed it so much the first time so went there again for a beach day.

    Much quieter beaches than in Laganas. Glorious day again.

    Tan was starting to pick up a bit by this point haha.

    Had a cold Fanta Orange at a beach bar. Had a paddle in the sea and then back to sunbathing.

    Kalamaki Beach

    I was reading in the sun aswell.

    Later on, wandered onto the main street to a restaurant. Tried a meal I’d never had before. Chewy pork and cheese in a hot pot dish. Delicious, but I can’t for the life of me remember its name or find it now to share with you lol.

    That night I had a few cocktails at the hotel bar, because the following day was an early start and possibly the most exciting of the holiday yet.

    Wide awake early, downstairs for a bacon and egg breakfast. Today I would be trying Scuba Diving for the first time. Pretty wild right? Lol.

    Picked up early at the stand where I’d bought the trip a few days before. The guy Nikos was a local diver. Not a bad life, Taking tourists out Scuba Diving in Zante.

    This…

    Was….

    The….

    Day!

    Driving up and down roads with lots of dips and hills. Beautiful scenery always. At one point Nikos ranted about how dangerous the quads are and the dickhead tourists that ride them lol.

    The guys are called Islanders Zante Diving and they drove me to their Centre on the West coast at a place called Porto Limnionas.

    An absolute tropical paradise.

    Me in Porto Limnionas

    There was plenty of time to swim and snorkel around before we had to get suited up and prepared for diving. The sea was perfect. Perfect look, perfect temperature. There were rocky caves and crevices to explore aswell. A big jump into the sea from the rocks for kicks!

    The training was half an hour. Getting breathing controlled and using the equipment correctly. Then you go live…

    Its hard. Think Nikos was losing his patience with me a bit to start. But then i got a handle on the breathing, the oxygen tank and the mouthpiece. They held my hand every step of the way.

    The experience was unlike anything I’d tried before.

    Amazing to look around. Went as deep as 15 metres down. Down in the perfect turquoise colour mediterranean sea. Exotic coloured fish around and corals.

    In the end I got a basic handle, enough to enjoy and be in the moment with it. Think it lasted about a half hour – 45 minutes. There was one sketchy moment where I panicked, tried to swim back up and one of the guys helped me with the mouthpiece. You can see this in the top right picture. Diving definitely isn’t easy.

    When we came back up there was some time to decompress. Get the gear off, float around, snorkel again, enjoy this place a bit more. Chat with a cigarette too.

    They drove me back to Laganas late afternoon. Paid for the photos you can see and that was that: godspeed!

    Got back to the hotel and had to take it easy for a bit after all that excitement.

    Had a wee kip for hours.

    Then headed out in search of food and drink.

    Found a nice beach-side bar/restaurant at the far south end of the strip. Comfy table, fresh Swordfish, potatoes and a glass of red wine. As good as it looks.

    Then took a mooch down the strip.

    Stopped at a bar I’d been to before and chatted to the same local barman. Showed me this giant bottle of grey goose that only high rollers can buy. Examples were DJ Nathan Dawes and Boxer Tyson Fury.

    Met a few familiar faces on the strip. In a few places including The Loft, IKON and a nightclub called Rescue (felt a bit old in that one truth be told lol).

    Then off to bed.

    Then I woke up and what would be the last full day here. Had the bacon pancakes again for breakfast. Headed out to Zante Town. Found a good sun-bed for the day.

    Walked all the way out of the busyness. Thats where you find the real beauty of an Island. Went for a few dips in the sea.

    Taking in every last moment.

    That night I went back to Blue Waves for some squid and Mythos Beer.

    I think this was my favourite restaurant in Zante.

    Can you hear the music? Love this place, will have to return. Yamas (cheers) to Greece!

    Was in The Loft the last night to say have a few final drinks and say goodbye to people I met.

    This shot in the morning after breakfast was a final coffee on my balcony.

    Then I was on the way home.

    A fabulous holiday!

    I hope you have enjoyed reading my experiences. If you have please like, comment etc.

    Safe travels!

    Instagram: armchairexpert25

  • 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.

    Me an Alfie then got the swim shorts on and went for a dip in the sea. As fresh as anywhere in the Med.

    Sat back on the sand and drank and talked as the light began to fade.

    We then got the return Speed Boat back to the Main Island after a perfect day.

    In the Loft again that night as the others were leaving the next morning. Went out with a blast!

    But my holiday had not finished yet tho.

    4 days left and I had big plans for them.

    Which I will tell you all about in Part 3.

    Please like, comment and share if you have enjoyed reading this.

    Thanks for reading, safe travels