Insula ZAKYNTHOS – De la Agios Nikolaos la Plaja Navagio (Grecia)
We leave the port village of Agios Nikolaos (St. Nicholas) located in the north-eastern part of Zakynthos Island To get to Navagio Beach, located in the northwestern part of the island, we will cross the “mountainous” part of it
It is a sparsely populated area, with a few small villages each having a few dozen inhabitants, for example Korithi, somewhere to our right To the left we see again the port village of Agios Nikolaos, the place of departure, and in the distance the Peloponnese coast
The islet preserves the ruins of a Venetian observation tower that supervised the navigation Passing through olive groves and millenary olive trees, we approach the village of Elies located at 360m altitude The village of Elies, with a few dozen inhabitants, is known for its olive presses and quality olive oil
Olive processing is an old occupation that is kept in the family To the right we see Cape Skinari, the extreme northern point of Zakynthos Island We reached the high area of the island, at about 400-450 m altitude We admire the cypress trees
We start to descend and approach the village of Volimes, with a few hundreds of inhabitants, the seat of the municipality of Elatia The street is too narrow for the bus and a pedestrian to pass at the same time
It is a quiet village, untouched by tourism, known for its handmade textiles The village suffered great damage during the 1953 Ionian earthquake – If it encourages you with something, Florin passed by here – And I!
– And he asked me to take his picture to… – But I also passed here … it was narrower than this – But with what you passed, with the scooter? 🙂 – I passed by here once! – Have you passed? – Yes! …
– Aoleu, dacă ne înfundăm aicea nu mai … – Ah, if we get stuck here, we won’t… – We tear down the roof … – He knows what he’s doing! – Maybe it’s heading a little further… – Move that house in back! 🙂 I have to…
– See you have a pillar behind you, Catalin! – I saw! – …but also some streets…! – It’s like that all over the island – At Lakones, in Corfu, it’s the same – The house on the left is already demolished
– Well, what kind of fence does he have, we’re doing him a favor… – Oh, oh, oh! – None (of the inhabitants) go out, for fear 🙂 – This hedge, it’s “scratched” – You realize how many have passed – Come on, it’s simple here, I can too! 🙂
– That’s it, you’ve escaped! – Not yet! – We escaaaaped! – We passed! Have you seen that it is possible? – Well done Cătălin! – Well done, well done! Congratulations! … – … but let’s not applaud – That we still have! – We applaud once more! 🙂
– The observation point (at Navagio Beach) is a platform There is a queue. I guess there aren’t very many now, but there’s still a bit of a queue
But let others too. Take a picture, look around a bit and go out to leave because there are usually more people in the summer Now let’s hope, being off-season … – Shall we go ahead? 🙂 – No, a little to the right! 🙂
We see a beautiful bay located on the west coast of Zakynthos Island, immediately south of the famous Navagio Beach – The landscape is spectacular! – Anyway, w’ve arrived! – Now now we will see how it will turn back …
We get off the bus and sit in the queue of the best belvedere point Navagio Beach (of the Shipwreck), due to the very high cliffs bordering the Smuggler’s Cove,
Is only accessible from the water, and going down to the beach is prohibited due to the risk of injury from falling stones Considered the most beautiful in Greece, perhaps in the whole world, Navagio Beach fully deserves its reputation
Vă rog să activați subtitrarea în românește!
Este surprinzător, chiar fascinant, cum putem vedea atâtea frumuseți pe parcursul a doar 14 km în partea de nord a Insulei Zakynthos pe un traseu care pornește de pe coasta estică a insulei și se termină pe cea vestică. Plecăm din satul-port Agios Nikolaos (Sfântul Nicolae) situat la circa 30 km de Zakynthos City și urcăm versantul muntos al insulei. Priveliștea se deschide și admirăm Golful Agios Nikolaos cu mica insuliță pe care se află rămășițele unei vechi mănăstiri din perioada timpurie a creștinismului, precum și ruinele unui turn de supraveghere („Vardiola”, completând numele insuliței) de unde putea controlată navigația dintre Kefalonia – Zakynthos – Peloponez. Drumul urcă la altitudini de 400-450 m printre plantații de măslini și grupuri de chiparoși, pe lângă foarte mici sate (Korithi și Elies). În coborâre, traversăm un sat mai mărișor, Volimes, practic neatins de turism, cunoscut pentru produsele textile realizate manual. Satul, puternic afectat de marele cutremur ionian din 1953, păstrează urbanistica tradițională cu străduțe foarte înguste (cât să încapă un măgar încărcat cu 2 coșuri), astfel că trecem prin momente de emoție când autocarul face manevre pentru a se strecura printre clădiri. În curând vedem coasta vestică a insulei și ajungem la vestita Plajă Navagio (Naufragiu, Shipwreck), desprecare se zice că este cea mai frumoasă din Grecia, dacă nu din întreaga lume. Plaja, nu este accesibilă decât dinspre mare așa că, pentru a o vedea de sus, ne așezăm la coada care se întinde de la platforma de belvedere. Oricum, toți suntem de acord că își merită renumele.