All the nooks and crannies of Zante

Zante is a crazy island full of arches, caves, nooks and crannies... And, in 6 days of kayak, we explored them all!
One of the things that we'll never forget are the colours: we had never seen a sea as blue as this before... and all the colours were so incredibly bright that you may think that I altered the photos!
Zante is also famous worldwide for its shipwreck beach (so famous that if you search for "shipwreck beach" in google-image you get it immediately), but that beach is so crowed of people and boats that we ran away shocked as fast as we could.

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Quando:

September, 2018

Conillo and his friends defending our supplies from a horde of rats, while we are packing all our stuff for the adventure.
This time we have an anchor too! It will be very useful in a island were beaches are so rare like Zante.
Brindisi, just before taking the ferry.
The Albanian ferry is incredibly slow and we get to Zante at 5 pm, after 20 hours! We hurry to drive to the starting point, put the kayaks on the beach and pack everything in. At sunset we set out and at the dusk we finally land on this lovely beach: our first camp.
Few hundred meters far away from our camp we found the Grand Canyon of Zante!
It is a perfect reproduction of the Colorado's Grand Canyon, but in Conillo's scale!
The Grand Canyon of Zante
The Grand Canyon of Zante
The Grand Canyon of Zante
The coastline is really nice.
On Zante's cliffs.
After a few crowded beaches that do not deserve to be shown here, at late afternoon we find this amazing place for our second camp: a beach inside a cave, with even a little secondary exit (can you see the white spot on the right?)
Our camp at the dawn.
After breakfast, leaving our cave from the secondary exit.
Zante is an island full of arches and caves!
Sloped ledge.
I must climb it!
Did I say that Zante is an island full of arches and caves?
The coast gets more "vertical".
A cave among the cliffs
Another cave among the cliffs.
...and more cliffs.
After almost 4 hours of cliffs, we finally find a place to land on. Obviously it is in a cave, and if you explore it...
...if you explore it you get out from here.
We won't circumnavigate the little island in front: a cave makes a gallery from one side the other! (The cave is not the big one on the left, it is the small one in the centre!)
Marvellous beaches.
This one is the beach we choose for our third camp: it is so beautiful!
Next morning, same beach seen from the sea.
Let's go.
I don't remember: did I tell you that Zante is an island full of arches and caves?
Me
Sylvia and her friend: the blue duck Aimè.
Surprise: there's a cave here!
Nice place for a climb!
(No, we didn't dare it!)
I the depth of the mountain.
A little cove comes out exactly at lunch time!
Conillo staring at the horizon.
4:30 pm, only cliffs, no beaches at all.
Suddenly we find this amazing place! It is so tiny that the kayaks have to stay moored in the water: there's no place for them.
Let's climb up to see the panorama!
Zante's fantastic coastline.
Ehi, but there are some caves there!!
Exploring the cliff
The little secret canyon of our forth camp: can you see the moored kayaks?
Tomorrow's coastline
Conillo's camp.
Our camp: we are in a greener area, so we set up our Ikea's mosquito net.
Early morning reflections in our secret cove.
The arch that yesterday we saw from the top of the cliff.
Amazing colours.
Kayaking at Zante.
I think I told you that at Zante there are quite a few caves, well, on this beach...
...On this beach there is a very impressive one! See Sylvia on the right to guess how huge the cave is!
Zante, arches, caves, kayaks
Zante, arches, caves, kayaks
Zante, arches, caves, kayaks
Zante, arches, caves, kayaks
At 4 pm we land on this beach, it is so beautiful!
We decide to stay here for the night.
Conillo watching the kayaks.
The little cave is the perfect place to read a book in the shade.
Conillo climber.
Sunset from our fifth camp.
Let's go!
Exploring nooks and crannies
Exploring nooks and crannies
Exploring nooks and crannies
Once in a while (every 5 minutes, actually) we encounter a new cave to explore.
Here we are very close to the famous shipwreck beach. It will be so crowded of people and boats that we'll run away as fast as we can.
After the awful experience of the shipwreck beach, we land on this micro-beach inside a cave to enjoy a swim.
Conillo on the rocks
Sylvia after the swim.
We are on a tiny islet were once there was a medieval monastery. Can you see the walls?
In spite of all our efforts, we didn't manage to climb up there!
The beach chosen for our sixth and last kayaking camp.
Just landed.
On the shipwreck beach there are thousands of people, this one is all for us! :-)
Sylvia drinking at sunset.
Leaving the camp. If you look carefully you can see the walls on the little monastery's islet.
We paddle very fast and manage to get back to "civilization" around 11 am.
Here it is our itinerary: 106 km paddling. (Partenza=Start, Arrivo=Finish).
We are at the Arrivo now, but our car is still at the Partenza!
Hitch-hiking, bus, driving and at 5 pm we finally enjoy a break in a centennial olive grove.
Sylvia and the olive tree.
Conillo too wants a photo with the olive trees!
Back in Rome, we have two days left before Sylvia has to go back to Poland.
Shall we have a rest? There will be time to rest, now lest have a last adventure in the Tuscia, the wild and beautiful volcanic hills north of Rome!
Our adventure companions sailing.
Dinner around the fire, at the river shore.
The next morning. During all this adventure we never used the tent: only the mosquito-net a few times.
You cannot visit Tuscia without visiting Tuscania (that is not in Tuscany, by the way)
Beautiful Tuscania.
Beautiful Tuscania.
Then we go to Vulci, that it is something quite unique: a castle from XI century (900 years old) that is still almost intact!
I dedicated a full story on this website about the castle of Vulci, its amazing canyon and the Roman bridge, so I won't describe it here.
We walk on a fantastic canyon were the water find its way in...
...Were the water find its way in a basaltic maze.
Our friend David joins us to say bye bye to Sylvia. Unfortunately this adventure is over :-( see you for the next one! :-)

Per un pugno di Basilico!

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Conillo and his friends defending our supplies from a horde of rats, while we are packing all our stuff for the adventure. - - Cover	This time we have an anchor too! It will be very useful in a island were beaches are so rare like Zante. - - Cover	Brindisi, just before taking the ferry. - - Cover	The Albanian ferry is incredibly slow and we get to Zante at 5 pm, after 20 hours! We hurry to drive to the starting point, put the kayaks on the beach and pack everything in. At sunset we set out and at the dusk we finally land on this lovely beach: our first camp. - - Cover
Few hundred meters far away from our camp we found the Grand Canyon of Zante! - - Cover	It is a perfect reproduction of the Colorado's Grand Canyon, but in Conillo's scale! - - Cover	The Grand Canyon of Zante - - Cover	The Grand Canyon of Zante - - Cover
The Grand Canyon of Zante - - Cover	The coastline is really nice. - - Cover	On Zante's cliffs. - - Cover	After a few crowded beaches that do not deserve to be shown here, at late afternoon we find this amazing place for our second camp: a beach inside a cave, with even a little secondary exit (can you see the white spot on the right?) - - Cover
Our camp at the dawn. - - Cover	After breakfast, leaving our cave from the secondary exit. - - Cover	Zante is an island full of arches and caves! - - Cover	Sloped ledge. - - Cover
I must climb it! - - Cover	Did I say that Zante is an island full of arches and caves? - - Cover	The coast gets more "vertical". - - Cover	A cave among the cliffs - - Cover
Another cave among the cliffs. - - Cover	...and more cliffs. - - Cover	After almost 4 hours of cliffs, we finally find a place to land on. Obviously it is in a cave, and if you explore it... - - Cover	...if you explore it you get out from here. We won't circumnavigate the little island in front: a cave makes a gallery from one side the other! (The cave is not the big one on the left, it is the small one in the centre!) - - Cover