A Greek Hike and a Marketing Idea

I like Kalamaki on the island of  Zakynthos because they have turtles. This means there are no late night flights. I guess if I was a turtle meandering up a beach, to lay my eggs, I wouldn't appreciate being buzzed by a Boeing 737. Suits me fine as I like early morning flights in and out. I'm a lazy git on holiday, I lie around reading and soaking up the sun. Although I'll fit in one run and hike, and so decided to hike up Mount Skopos to the monastery.

There's something about a long run or a hike that frees your mind, but also helps you ponder. I guess that's an oxymoron? Which as a child, I thought was a stupid donkey. Anyaways, I'd taken a copy of my first book, The Siege of Mr Khan's Curry Shop on this holiday with a mind to read it. As I walked I had an idea, more of that later because this is the hiking part. It was a great trail, and so quiet.

I've seen some peculiar viewing points over the years but never graffiti and sunlounger halfway up a trail.

Once you reach the top there are spectacular views of the island and of course the monastery. The exact date the monastery was built in is unknown but 1453 was a guess by a local I spoke to. It was destroyed in the earthquake that shook Greece in 1953 and rebuilt in 1962-1963.

After a rest in the café, yup there is an actual café up there run by a lovely lady, who kindly offered us a glass of water when we reached the top. After a bite to eat it was time to head back down.

Getting back to the idea I had earlier, with my book. I wrote a note inside the front cover and left it on the hotel library shelf. It disappeared for a day then reappeared and disappeared again. It's still there now. I'm not sure if this is a good marketing ploy or been done before, but I thought over a thousand holiday makers visit the hotel every year, so why not? I'll leave a book in every hotel I visit from now on with a little message. 😉

Happy Trails, folks x