[Matters 62] Zakynthos in Memories (4)

The day before , I was exhausted from running around. The next day I collected my luggage, changed positions, and moved from Laganas to the downtown area of Zakynthos.

Laganas is located in the southwest area of the entire island, while Zakynthos is located in the center of the east side of the island, which means that we are halfway across the island in this move. However, the whole island is not very big, and it is only about 37 kilometers from the farthest south to the farthest north, so after an hour, we entered the city.

Due to the delay in the itinerary and the physical discomfort at the time, the pace of travel has slowed down a lot. Therefore, on the third day, I woke up early that day and planned to solve the scenic spots in this area of the city within one day at least, and then I could make up for the scenic spots that I did not visit on the first or second day without any worries.

However, the more anxious, the more there is no way to go smoothly. Especially if we are tourists from other places, there are not many people who visit this island and record it in writing. In addition to being attracted and visited by the scenic spots on Google Maps, other parts of this trip can be described as our own exploration.

On this day, the first rule of playing on the island that we have figured out is: dusk is the beginning!

However, when we realized this, it was already that night.

Zakynthos on the Ionian Sea is so hot! In addition to the high temperature (although the early thirties are better than Taiwan, but the sun is very big and there are almost no clouds), it is difficult to sweat, and I feel dizzy from time to time after walking under the sun for a long time, and I feel like I am about to suffer from heat stroke.

It was about ten in the morning when we arrived downtown. There were a lot of cars on the road at that time, but when we arrived at the second homestay, parked the car, checked in, and packed up our luggage to go out to eat something before running the trip, we found that there was no one on the road when we went out.

At that time, I thought, this is not bad, and the pictures taken are very clean. However, to our surprise: we searched everywhere, except for one convenience store and two souvenir shops, the rest of the restaurants were closed.

Since my husband found a cheap and good-looking restaurant in the city and said he wanted to try it, and then we walked outside the restaurant, I was immediately attracted by its exterior decoration (yes, it's so superficial, for color matching Good, well-decorated places are always a bit overwhelming, and the reviews on Google Maps are pretty good) so we insisted on waiting for the restaurant to open before going for a meal and then going for a ride.

Unexpectedly, this was the worst decision of the day.

Not only Google Maps, but also the Yard of Tast restaurant, which opens at 11:00, was posted on the door of the restaurant. When we arrived around 11:30, the doors and windows were still closed. As a result, we walked around the block before returning to the restaurant to investigate. Unexpectedly, at nearly twelve o'clock, the door was still closed, but there was a vegetable basket in one of the windows outside the restaurant. Seeing this situation, my husband mustered up the courage to knock on the window, and finally the owner appeared and said, "We'll open at one o'clock!"

Suddenly there was nearly an hour of free time, and we thought: why don't we go to the port to have a look!

So under the scorching sun, we headed to the port.

Walking in the direction of the harbour, you will pass through the Pomnik Solomosa square, where, in addition to museums, many restaurants, hotels and small shops, there is a church (above) and a bank (below).

Besides the bank, there are also several statues.

Although I don’t know the meaning of these statues, I don’t know their names, and those who know their names can’t find English materials. In the end, I just took pictures, and then I thought that maybe one day I would have the opportunity to find stories about them.

This statue I privately named her "Goddess of Peace and Victory". The bottom skirt feels like a sea wave and a tree root, but the most interesting thing is the tree/garland I picked up (it feels like a bay leaf?) But in short, I have a feeling that the world is at peace because of the victory. That's it.

This stone pillar (? Or a stele?) obviously represents peace. The white dove, the olive leaf, and an event that happened in 1941-1944 were recorded on it, but the rest of the text was written in Greek. See I don't know, there is no other explanation nearby.

Braving the midday sun, we gradually approached the port.

The feet were baked by the floor, but the color of the scene was accentuated by the strong sunlight.

We walked along the long harbour to the lighthouse, but it was too hot and we were starting to get hungry.

So I looked at the time, 12:40, it was time to go back slowly.

As we prepared to leave the port area, we were fortunate to see this retro, song-playing ship come into port.

The song was a little sad, but very melodious, resounding throughout the bay. This Greek song is still lingering in my mind, and when I listened to the song, I always thought: Greece always seems to be romantic but with a touch of tragedy. Both past and present.

Seeing the big ship, I was content but also dizzy and strolled back to the restaurant.

I found lovely berries in the square and couldn't help but take a few pictures.

Also found a healthy mimosa tree, a little surprised that mimosa can grow so big.

＊

Arrived at the restaurant after one o'clock, the owner finally let us in.

This meal was very enjoyable, but also ate our laziness. Especially when the owner mentioned that she had stayed in Germany for a while, and then a Greek and two Taiwanese chatted in German on a small island in Greece, which was a magical encounter.

Perhaps because walking against the sun at noon consumed too much physical strength, after attacking about a third of the way towards the castle that day, he gave up.

When we told the owner that we were going to the Bóchali Venetian Castle (Bóchali Venetian Castle) on the top of the mountain, the owner was surprised that it was not a complete castle, it was just a "wreck". We laughed and said we knew, but we didn't expect that the stone slab leading to the castle was very slippery.

After leaving the store, we passed the commercial street that was still closed and started to climb the mountain.

However, as the incline got steeper, I realized that sandals were simply not enough for the tanned slate.

On the way up, my feet slipped from time to time, and there was no handle on the side of the road to help me, I was really scared. My husband was slippery in cloth shoes, so we had to slow down. At the same time, we felt helpless about the winding stone road leading to the castle, but also thought it was an interesting challenge. We also thought in the same way that it was probably set up for the sake of being easy to defend and difficult to attack (I made up the picture of making it easy for attackers to slide down the mountain).

In short, after walking for more than 40 minutes, we only climbed less than one-third of the height, and when we walked up, several cars passed by, and finally we decided: "It's better to drive." Therefore, when we finally turned back Stop for a while at the Church of Saint Dimitrios of Kanesi, then head down again, back into the city.

On the return trip, it was even more terrifying. The original uphill became downhill, and the strength of the toes was still incomparable with the heel. However, by supporting each other, they passed the test without any risk.

And after I climbed up the mountainside this time, I realized that living in the middle of the mountainside and watching the sea from a distance is also a kind of enjoyment!

Homes in this area have balconies, and those balconies are cleverly avoided from electrical wiring. It can only be said that the people who live here are really happy. Although Zakynthos City is really noisy and there are more man-made constructions, if you can settle down on the hillside not far from the sea, open the windows or When you walk into the balcony, you can see the sea from a distance, which is romantic and has a feeling of being hidden in the city.

＊

Back in the city, we "drifted" for a while that day, and unexpectedly discovered many scenic spots.

The second half of the day is unfinished.

**

Thank you/you for reading this.

It is because of your reading that this article exists again and again :)