The Fast & The Curious

It’s our last day on Zakynthos & I’m genuinely sad about it.

This island has been unreal. Like one of those places where every time you turn a corner you accidentally become a travel influencer against your will.

We woke up bright & early to walk to the port for sunrise because we are obviously the kind of people who voluntarily wake up before 6 am on vacation. The sunrise was stunning, so it validated our decision.

Back at the hotel, I wandered around the property, attempted to mentally prepare for leaving, & waited for breakfast to open like it was Black Friday at Best Buy.

The Contessina breakfast buffet absolutely LOCKED IN today. I’m talking an aggressive amount of food. Multiple pastries. Fresh honeycomb. Tiny jars of things. Omelette station. Enough options to make you forget every meal you’ve ever had before this one. I stood at the omelette station patiently waiting for eggs while also trying to strategically calculate how many more buffet laps I could reasonably justify before our spa appointment.

Yes, spa appointment. Again.

We had a massage booked before checkout because apparently wellness is important now. Then they gave us a complimentary follow-up massage from the day before because “follow-up care matters.” Honestly one of the strongest business models I’ve ever seen. I fully support it. Financially? Less sure.

I spent part of the morning laying by my private pool pretending I was the type of person who relaxes peacefully on vacation. Unfortunately after approximately 14 minutes my brain remembered I had to pack, so that ended quickly.

Then it was finally time for our ATV adventure.

Except not actually an ATV. It was more like… if a golf cart & a toy Jeep had a baby.

Now fun fact: everyone here drives manual. The rental place confidently assumed I could also drive manual. I cannot ❤️ Also apparently I needed an international license. Love that journey for me. Thankfully they still let us rent the little car after approximately 47 phone calls, forms, a small amount of panic, & me learning that “red tape” becomes significantly less metaphorical when you’re signing documents in another country.

But THEN. We got the blue one. & suddenly everything was okay again. Shoutout to ABBA Travels, which I selected entirely because of the name. No regrets.

Today honestly changed my entire perspective on this island. The landscapes here make absolutely no sense. The north looks like the Italian Riviera with dramatic cliffs & winding coastal roads. The center is rolling hills, olive trees, wineries, & mountains surrounding little valleys. Then the south suddenly looks like you accidentally drove into Moana.

It’s absurdly beautiful.

At one point I genuinely looked into changing our plans so we could stay another day because eight hours with the car felt offensively short. But, I digress. We hopped in the car & started our drive around this stunning island. Our intention was to go to the south side of the island to explore today, but I get distracted easily. Say hello to the view from the Windmill Cafe. I have no idea what food they serve but our smoothie & Coke Zero were almost as good as this view that we took in.

OUR SECOND STOP (BUT FIRST OFFICIAL ONE) WAS MIZITHRES ROCKS

I truly have no vocabulary strong enough for that view. The water looked fake. The cliffs looked fake. Even the boats somehow looked fake. Like if Pinterest & National Geographic collaborated on a screensaver.

Also yes I flew my drone. & no I did not crash it. Thank you for asking.

We attempted to go to Keri Caves Beach next, but the road started looking a little too “local fisherman with a death wish” for our tiny car, so we pivoted. Then we went to Cameo Island, which featured a tiki bar & one of the most structurally suspicious bridges I’ve ever crossed. It shook the entire time. I survived, but emotionally I may still be on that bridge.

After that we headed toward Gerakas Beach but the weather started looking stormy & our little blue doorless vehicle did not exactly scream “safe in severe conditions.” HOWEVER. For literal miles we kept seeing signs for Banana Beach. So naturally we had to stop because if you advertise banana beach that aggressively, I’m expecting bananas. There were no bananas. Not one. That feels like a problem honestly.

Still cute though. Very Tulum energy. We had lunch there & ordered saganaki, which may have been the best one yet. Evan believes saganaki should basically be a giant mozzarella stick & unfortunately he is simply incorrect. That’s like going to Italy & being mad the pasta isn’t Olive Garden Alfredo. Respect the culture!

They also brought us a free dessert afterward which neither of us could physically handle eating, but the waiter looked so hopeful that I made Evan take a few bites just for morale purposes.

The driving today was honestly insane in the best way. Tiny roads. Mountains. Sharp turns. A tiny blue car with no doors. At one point I realized I was actively driving through one of the prettiest places I’ve ever seen in my life & just started laughing.

I love this island. Like deeply.

Honestly more than the south of France, which says a LOT coming from me. There’s just something about it. The scenery is unreal, the people are kind, everything feels slower but somehow more alive at the same time. It feels adventurous in a way a lot of places don’t anymore.

We got back to return the car at 6:20 & needed to be at the airport by 7, according to everyone who lied to us. We ended up there before they even opened baggage check, which means we lost like 30 minutes of island time instead of missing our flight & having to stay another day. Rude.

I think I finally have accepted my ideal travel style on this trip: slightly chaotic, overambitious, scenery-filled, & involving at least one transportation decision that makes me question my life choices. I will simply never be a “sit by the pool all day” traveler. I mean, I lasted 14 minutes by the pool today. I like movement, spontaneity, & accidentally ending up on roads that probably weren’t designed for my tiny blue car. Leaving open days in the schedule has honestly been SUCH a game changer because we can actually follow the adventure instead of rushing through it.

And honestly? This trip came at the perfect time. Before a huge move, before a new chapter, before everything changes a little. It’s been exhausting in the best way possible. The kind of exhausting that fills your creative brain back up again.

Anyways, if you’re reading this, we made it safely to our next destination ✈️ which I can confirm definitely has gelato (thank goodness, 3 days without was too many).

You’ll find out where tomorrow. Lila tov!