Shipwreck Beach and a swim

Driving to Agios Nikolaos

We left the hotel about 0830, driving towards Agios Nikolaos where cruises are available to Navagio (Shipwreck) Beach and hopefully the Blue Caves.

The drive was a bit scary for Kim with the narrow roads and the way other drivers overtake and pull on from the side roads.  It is unusual for him to regret not taking full insurance cover.

As we approached the northern end of the island, there were many kiosks offering information for sightseeing cruises.  We ignored them but stopped for the one right outside the free carpark at Agios Nikolaos.

The man offered a 3h boat ride to Navagio and Blue Caves for EUR25.  It was less than what I had read, so we happily parked and paid up.  We spent about 45 mins waiting at a café before the 1100 departure.

Blue Caves

We boarded a boat with about 20 seats but there were only eight passengers.  The captain took us to the northern tip of the island where there were some caves.

The light at times makes the water look very blue, giving them the name Blue Caves.  One of the caves had an “underpass” to the other side which was open to the outside, giving it a bright blue appearance.

Having done something similar in Malta, the caves were a nice but not a terrific experience.  What was more impressive was the talent of the captain in manoeuvring the boat in and out of the caves safely.

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Navagio Beach

We continued to the west side of the island, calling into Navagio Beach.  Those who follow Korean drama call it Shipwreck Beach.

Since an earthquake a few years ago, no one is allowed to land on the beach due to the risk of rockfall from above.

There were a few other boats hanging around, allowing their guests to enjoy the sight, just as we were.  The sun wasn’t quite high enough and only a small part of the wreck was illuminated.  If only we had been a little later.

The other boats cleared off, leaving the area to ourselves before we pulled away as well.

My old guidebook had suggested that the area was like the D-Day Landing at Normandy with boats beaching and people landing onto the beach.

Swimming

With the sightseeing done, we called into Agios Andreas for a swim in possibly the nicest water I’ve ever enjoyed.  While the water was at first a bit chilly, it was refreshing in the heat of the Greek summer.  The allocated time was only 20 mins but we probably stayed a bit longer than that.

We think we lucked out on having the best boat ride amongst all the other vessels we had encountered, with respect to economy of scale and manoeuvrability:

• The huge 300 seat ones that originate from the main port of Zakynthos would be ghastly with the crowds. I think their total excursion time is about 8h compared to ours of 3h but cost about the same due to the economy of scale.
• The ones slightly larger than ours wouldn’t be manoeuvrable in and out of the Blue Caves.
• The tiny private ones (eg. 4 seats) would bake Kim’s fragile complexion in minutes.

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Navagio Beach Viewpoint

Back at Agios Nikolaos, we started our drive to the viewpoint for Navagio Beach on the west coast.

We parked and walked the short distance to the viewpoint where there was a short queue to the small narrow viewing platform.  From the left side of the platform, we had a glimpse of Navagio Beach.

Navagio Beach from the clifftop viewpoint.

Rest of the day

From the viewpoint, we continued our drive back to our hotel, stopping for lunch en route.  We were famished and at the first place, the waiter was delayed by fussy people who had to enquire about the details of every dish.

Knowing that our order would come after theirs, we moved on to another place further down the road.  It turned out to be a great choice.  The club sandwich and salad of tomatoes and cucumber were exactly what we needed.

Continuing our drive, we noticed plenty of quad bikes.  It must be the thing to do here, exploring by quad bikes in the harsh Greek summer sun.  I can’t think of a worse way of exploring apart from bicycling.  Even worse, it seemed compulsory for (nearly) all the men to be shirtless.

On the way home, we passed through Laganas to have a look.  It was a bit of a party town with lots of young people.  I can imagine it being quite a rowdy place at night.

We returned to our hotel around 1630 for a rest.  I was tempted to swim in the pool but there was a little bit of a slick and some dead insects which put me off (although on subsequent days the pool was clean).

We finished the day with dinner in Zakynthos town. My visit to Greece wouldn’t be complete without a stifado beef stew (and a few other dishes which I will work through during my stay).