Much as the manmade can astound and delight travellers, nothing can really compare to the majesty, diversity, mystery, and beauty of nature. When you are exploring the world, great views, impressive rock formations, stunning beaches, majestic mountain peaks, lush pastures, towering forests, and other natural phenomena are usually high on the list of your things to see and do.
Greece, in particular, is a place that boasts a diverse and utterly stunning landscape, full of wonderful gifts from nature and, if you have found a
vacation rental in Zakynthos, then there is likely a particular sight that will rank high on the list of things to see and do for any tourist visiting the area: to spot the famous turtles of Marathonisi.
The appeal is understandable; these are utterly beautiful and astounding creatures and the opportunity to, perhaps, see them up-close is thrilling. However, this article is not the regular kind that you will find on this website. It will not detail the excitement of a particular attraction or day out but, rather, inform and suggest caution instead.
Zakynthos still has many charms but, after the last recession, it has struggled and mass development of tourist resorts is something that was turned to in desperation to help the flailing economy. The wondrous natural bounty of the island has, undeniably, suffered, as a result.
Not least of all the community of loggerhead turtles that shelter on the eastern side of Zakynthos to mate and lay eggs. They are the only species of turtles that come to Greek waters and of the entire Mediterranean
loggerhead population (which is estimated to only be in the low thousands), around 50-70% come to Zakynthos.