Zante Day 6 - Smugglers Cove Pirates

So day 6 of our holiday and a very welcome break from the water park, beach and pool. Our first excursion was a boat trip to the North East side of the island to visit the most famous tourist destination on Zante - Smugglers Cover. Smugglers Cover homes the famous ship wreck of the Panagiotis.

 

This ship was built in Scotland in 1937 and originally named Saint Bedan. The story goes that in its later years the Panagiotis was used as a smuggling ship, taking contraband from one place to another. In 1980 it is said that it was taking a shipment of cigarettes from Turkey and was being pursued by the Greek Navy, who knew it was smuggling items. Encountering stormy weather and fleeing the Greek Navy the Panagiotis was ran aground in the shallow cove of Zakynthos, here the crew abandoned the ship and left so as to escape the Greek Navy. Still the shipwreck remains there today and is called Navagio which is Greek for shipwreck.

 

As we approached the steep descent from the mountains towards the small harbour where we were to board our boat, it was obvious we were in for a treat as the views with absolutely spectacular.

 

Harbour view from up on the mountain road.

 

Stunning waters in the harbour area.

Postcard material - just beautiful.

Is that really sea water or mineral water????

Now at this point I should mention that one thing which is very clear is that Joshua does not travel well. The coach journey to the harbour was around an hour on meandering mountain roads and subsequently Joshua was sick four times! That didn't bode well when we were about to board a boat on fairly choppy waters. As it happened we picked a very windy day for the trip and just about everyone on the boat was getting a bit green, both me and Joshua had our heads over the deck feeding the fish! However Joshua was the sick boy World record holder with a total of 7 times being sick.

 

Anyway we had about 20 mins at the harbour to recover from the coach ride before getting the boat. So we had a little play on the beach and had some food and drink.

Brandon playing on a pedal boat.

Tina, Joshua and Brandon chilling at the harbour.

A rare picture of all 5 of us on holiday.

At the start of the boat ride it was all smiles and the boys were loving getting soaked by the splashing waves. After 10-15 mins these expressions soon changed.

As we approached Smugglers Cover the water seemed to turn into the most beautiful aqua / jade type of colour.

Unfortunately the waters were too choppy for our boat to anchor up so that we could get on the beach and explore the ship wreck. We were all devastated by this as it was the main reason for going on this excursion (and would have given us all a break from the sea to settle our stomachs). 

Unfortunately we only got to view the Panagoitis from a distance.

On the way back to the harbour we passed a few caves and arches which made for some stunning photo opportunities.

Another very famous site in Zante is the cave of the Poseidon Face. We were fortunate enough to see this on our return to the harbour and I was pleased that both the boys could identify the face in the rock looking down at the sea. 

Can you see Poseidon's Face on the right hand side of the cave?

Once we got back to the harbour all the kids got to play some pirate games, get their faces painted and make some pirate hats and swords. Brandon decided his pirate name was Captain Angry Bird so I had to help him draw Angry Birds on his pirate hat.

Captain Angry Bird.

Joshua picked a more obvious pirate name and called himself Captain Jack Sparrow.



My two happy pirates with the biggest plate of chips I have ever seen.

I couldn't resist taking more pictures of the absolutely breathtaking harbour views.



And more............

Can you see Joshua in his yellow top about to enter the crystal clear waters.

There he is.

No surprises that me and Joshua was last on the coach as he wouldn't come out of the sea.

Overall the excursion was a good day out with stunning views and a good pirate theme for the boys. The downside was the sickness and not being able to get onto the beach to explore the ship wreck. The coach ride home was without incident (sickness) as both boys were so exhausted that they fell asleep. When we got back and woke them up, Brandon's comment was "That was quick!". 

 

So we showered and freshened up. Then the boys out on some smart clothes ready for another night out on the town and to strut their stuff at the mini disco. Note Joshua's souvenir blue Zante bumbag he is sporting. For some reason he really wanted a bumbag and kept his camera, some lip seal and a bouncy ball in it. He was absolutely obsessed with his bumbag and it tended to go everywhere with him.

Joshua and Brandon all dressed up, Joshua sporting his new souvenir bumbag.