Zakynthos podcast – sightseeing around the island in Greece

Welcome to podcast 13 in my travel podcast series. I’m taking you on holiday with me to the Greek island of Zakynthos or Zante as it’s popularly known. You’ll hear about how we explored the island, enjoyed Greek mezze in Zante town and watched some traditional Greek dancing.

I describe visiting ancient monasteries and wine tasting with our friends at Oenolpi winery. We took a boat trip around Laganas bay that’s known as a protected nesting site of the Caretta Caretta turtles.

My sister lives on Zakynthos, where she runs the Windmill Hotel and Windmill Bay Hotel with her Greek husband. We visit her every year and this year we were there in May, which is an ideal time to visit.

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Podcast notes

You’ll hear the sounds of the birds chirping in the background as I describe the view from our room above Windmill Hotel owned by my sister and her husband, with the olive groves and fruit trees and view over the terracotta roofs and across the bay to Zante town.

In Zante town I describe our lunch of typical Greek mezze, in a restaurant by the harbourside. We tried miniature sardines in batter and creamy tzatziki with herbs and spring onions. There were giant broad beans in fresh tomato sauce, courgettes baked in the oven with oil, stuffed vine leaf dolmades with rice and mint stuffing.

Later we took a walk to the end of the harbour to watch the boats coming and going. We sat in a trendy cafe, sitting on rattan sofas for our frappé chilled coffee.

You’ll hear the evening of Greek dancing at my sister’s Windmill Hotel. Traditional Greek dancers do their floor show and then get all the audience dancing around the swimming pool. My nephews and the barman did a show of their own.

I walked around the vegetable garden that my sister’s Greek mother-in-law maintains with fruit trees, especially oranges and lemons. There’s a poly tunnel with tomatoes, as well as courgettes, onions, beans and garlic. She keeps chickens and rabbits for eating and eggs, and makes delicious traditional dishes from the produce such as these Greek stuffed tomatoes.

Visiting the winery

We visited Oenolpi winery to meet up with Christina-Maria and Timothy who we met last year and made a video of our wine tasting. Christina tells us why, although she grew up in Athens, she finds she’s even busier running a business on Zante, but why she feels she has a better quality of life surrounded by nature in the vineyards.

We spent a day on a catamaran trip around Laganas bay, from Porto Roma booked with Nature World Travel. They organise turtle-friendly trips to see the marine park in Laganas Bay.

I talk to Yannis Vardakastanis about his work to conserve the turtles and other wildlife in Laganas Bay. We hear also from Cathal, who works at the Earth Sea, Sky centre that Yannis runs at Gerakas. He tells us about the survey trips that he and the other the volunteers do every day to check on the turtle nests, and monitor their numbers which are sadly in decline.

We drove to the rocky northern end of the island to see the old monastery of St Denis, the patron saint of the island. Then we drove on to the outlook over the much photographed Navagio bay or Smuggler’s Cove which is featured on many a postcard. Later we finished with a late lunch in a local taverna at Alykes.

Things that you might enjoy on Zante or Zakynthos

This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com

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