ThePaddler 34

ThePaddler 35

PADDLING PELIGONI

‘You’re going where?’ my best mate asked indisbelief when I told him the choice of destinationfor our SUP trip…and I have to say, sitting in thedeparture lounge, waiting for our flight to becalled, surrounded by Zante bound stag and henparties, I’m inclined to ask myself the samequestion.

The ‘booze, beans, burgers ‘n’ boobs’ mentalitypermeates through the thronging mass and I start tofeel nauseous. The girls ogle the boys and the boyssalivate back in the girls’ direction. ‘Please God, let thisbe a successful trip’ I think to myself as I watch abunch of ‘Oi Oi’ lads swigging beer. It’s a little after5am and the boozing has already begun…

By Tez Plavenieks

The stunning Shipwreck Bay from above. Tez taking a breather.

The Laganas stripThe island of Zakynthos, or Zante as we Britsmore commonly refer it to, has long been amainstay of the UK holiday scene andcontinues to be a popular choice for thoselooking for Greek fun in the sun.

Laganas, the main strip, is dominated by rows ofbars, nightclubs and fast food outlets. Ifdrinking copious amounts of cheap alcohol,stumbling home with a kebab stuffed in yourcheeks, falling asleep in the remnants of saidkebab on the beach, waking to a blazing sunand getting third degree burns for the trouble isyour thing, then you’ll right at home in Laganas.

In all honesty, Laganas isn’t that bad – thebeach is actually relatively easy on the eyes –it’s just not mine or Fi’s thing. At the risk ofsounding like a snob, we were searching forthe ‘other’ Zakynthos – the one we’d heard afew reports about, something which couldonly be achieved after getting away from thesprawl of Zak’ town and Laganas strip.

Heading northAs you climb up into the hills, heading north,the vibe mellows dramatically and with thesplash of amazingly coloured blue Ionian Seato the right, the green hues of olive andapricot trees on the left and Cephalonia risingfrom the heat haze to the north, our anxietiesbegan to evaporate.

With a scorching sun beating down wecontinued our journey along the winding cliffroads all the way to the sleepy port of AgiosNikolaos. Still in awe of the strikingcountryside and enticing water, we hung asharp right, descended a small hill and finallyarrived at our destination – the Peligoni Club.

PeligoniThe Peligoni Club is a watersports and beachclub that’s perched atop the rocks right onZante’s north east facing coastline. With nodiscernible beach to speak of we wereintrigued as to how guests would get in andout of the water with their kit.

After a spot of pottering and investigating allbecame obvious. A slipway cut into the rocksmakes for the perfect in and out and isactually pretty easy to navigate – despite theinitial hesitation on our part.

Greeted by beach manager, Chris Haysey,Peligoni dog mascot, Snoop, and the rest ofthe beach team, we were shown the ropes,where all the watersports equipment hidesand given the low down regarding prevailingweather conditions.

Having completed the guided tour we hit thewater to cleanse ourselves of the travellinggrime and in seconds were straight into theswing of things.

Start the day rightThe area around Peligoni is extremelybeautiful. The colour of the water is simplyastounding and just begs you to dive right in.Flat, glassy calm seas in the morning giveamazing SUP conditions. Sweeping along theolive grove fringed coast you can’t help butgaze down into the deep blue abyss, trying tospot the abundant marine life swimmingabout beneath you.

At 10am in the morning the mercury is alreadysoaring into the mid-30s and after a fewstrokes Fi and I found ourselves regularlydropping in to the water to cool off. The warmIonian Sea envelops itself around you andbrings respite to inferno like conditions youexperience when ‘spooning’ around.

Having finished off a hearty breakfast ofdelicious locally grown fruit, Greek yoghurt,honey and strong coffee we would head off todo a few circuits of ‘Little Italy’ which is asmall peak of rock that juts skyward and lies afew yards offshore from Agios Nikolaos port.

Apparently the rock is owned by Italy butdoesn’t have any inhabitants – apart from ahealthy number of squawking seagulls. Theisland is great for those SUPers who love a fewlaps and offers a unique and beautiful vista tokeep you entertained during your SUP sessions.

ThePaddler 37

ThePaddler 36

Sweeping along the olive grove fringed coast you can’t help but gaze down into

the deep blue abyss,trying to spot the abundant marine life

swimming about beneath you

R&R at the Peligoni Club

Blue Caves archway

ThePaddler 38

Further afieldWe travelled to Zakynthos with our own iSUPgear as we wanted to make sure we weren’trestricted to just the club. The Red PaddleAllWater is the perfect tool for the job, simple totravel with and avoids costly excess baggagecharges. After the first day in resort we loaded upthe hire car and went off exploring.

The eastern flank of Zante is a stunninglybeautiful part of the world and hides a plethora ofSUP touring options. In places the jagged cliffs aresteep and white and conceal multiple caves thatare just begging for discovery.

Mikro Nisi is one such spot – about a ten-minute drive from Peligoni. As you descend thesteps to the smooth white pebble beach theclarity of the water leaves you gasping in awe. Allthe hues of blue and turquoise shimmer andglisten under the hot sun.

Once inflated, we paddled round to the caves onthe left and spent an enjoyable timeinvestigating what was on offer. Some of thesecaverns are big enough to get inside and offershady respite from the glaring sun’s rays out inopen water.

During our sessions we were asked a lot ofquestions with regard to our Red Air SUPs, asapparently stand up paddlers just aren’t acommon sight. This is a crying shame as there’sso much paddling potential here just waiting tobe ‘swept’…

Blue CavesDuring one noteworthy morning we had theopportunity to paddle among the famous BlueCaves. As with those found further south, theBlue Caves are large archways and cavernscarved into the rock from years of being lashedby winter Mediterranean storms and erosion.

The Blue Caves are a busy tourist hub with highvolumes of boat traffic ferrying punters in andout. We had to be careful not to cause anuisance, as Greek boat drivers are notorious fornot giving way to anything!

A number of caves make up this stretch of theZak’ coast and you can easily spend hoursmarvelling at these geological formations. Forthose who do decide to head to Zante for someSUP action then it’s definitely worth making thetrip here. It’ roughly a 30 minute ‘sweep’ fromAgio Nikolaos port. Just be sure to do it in themorning before the Meltemi breeze kicks in.

All the huesof blue and turquoise

shimmerand glisten in the sun

Paddlers would need to be aware that coming ashore during the mission, in the event of an accident, wouldn’t be that easy as

sheer cliffs and sharp rocks litter the surrounding shorelineShipwreck Bay

Shipwreck Bay is another iconic Zakynthoslocation. Only accessible by boat (or SUP), thebay is on the north facing coast and boasts themost amazing swimming pool blue colouredwater you’ve ever seen. Called Shipwreck Baybecause of the junked ship hull perched on thewhite sand, Shipwreck Bay is definitely worth apunt with a paddle.

If you decide to SUP to the spot then it will takea good few hours to reach. Paddlers would needto be aware that coming ashore during themission, in the event of an accident, wouldn’t bethat easy as sheer cliffs and sharp rocks litter theshoreline. We cheated and had Chris Haysey, thePeligoni beach manager, buzz us round in thecentre RIB.

Unfortunately on the day in question an earlybreeze filled in and was nuking off the cliffsmaking paddling a bit of a mission. Battlingagainst the wind, we still managed to get someshots but after a time we gave it neck. Thanksto Chris for the transport, without which wewouldn’t have made it to the bay.

It’s also possible to view Shipwreck Bay from thevantage point high on the cliff above. Thosewithout a head for heights should bewarethough – as stunning as the view is, it may leaveyou jelly legged and dizzy!

Afternoon blow offGreece is famous for its afternoon thermalbreeze known locally as the Meltemi. The windkicks in, usually, around mid-afternoon –although it can be earlier.

The Meltemi blows from north to south and forthe downwind aficionado this can serve upsome awesome conditions. We did a fewmini downwind gun runs but with onlyiSUPs at our disposal catching runnersand rollers were a little tricky.Fortunately, as Fi and I alsowindsurf, we could still makegood use of the blow and spentmost afternoons blasting backand forth in front of the club.

Around 6pm we’d retire to thebar for some well-earnedMythos (local brew) and/orgin and tonic. Never hasaprès tasted so good…

ThePaddler 39

In the whole 10-day period the wife and I paddledevery day and windsurfed all but one.

For paddling exploits the island offers a hugeamount of potential. With the right support andlogistics some serious downwind action could beachieved, as could a total circumnavigation of theisland – a feat, as far as we’re aware, has yet to becompleted.

For the recreational paddler Zakynthos deliverssome absolutely stunning, interesting and mellowtouring and exploring opportunities. If you’re thetype who, like us, fancies combining a few

disciplines, then as long as you’re not a hardcorewave head, you’ll be well served in this part ofGreece.

Zante will no doubt continue to attract the ‘boozyboys and girls brigade’, and why shouldn’t it?However, if you’re looking for something differentfrom your stand up paddle boarding trip then Zak’would also be worthy of consideration. With still somuch untapped SUP potential, the island is ripe fordiscovery. Check it out before everyone else does…

ThePaddler 40

ThanksFi and I would like to extend ourmassive thanks firstly to Red Paddle Cofor the iSUP gear we travelled with.Without this generosity we wouldn’thave had the opportunity to explore thestunning Zakynthos coast.

We’d also like to give a massive shoutout to the Peligoni Club staff that helpedmake our stay super fun, comfortableand enjoyable. Thank you Ben, Chris,Bibby, Lee, ‘Big’, Rory, Charlie, Charlieand Snoop – we’ll be back!

Tez Plavenieks is a freelance watersports writer/journalist who produces articles, features and storiesfor a number of printed and online platforms.

Zante – an SUP Mecca?

You can find more atwww.tezplavenieks.com