The island of Zakinthos was our next stop after Kefallonia, as we made our way south. We were not going to have the time to do the famous Shipwreck Beach, and the west side in general, though reportedly beautiful, was going to have to wait for another visit as the anchorages are all exposed to the forecasted winds. We dropped anchor in the southeastern town by the same name as the island, and had a fun little visit.
The town is cute, but the Byzantine Museum in the main square is a small masterpiece. Home to all the religious iconography that was salvaged from island churches after the earthquake of 1953, it’s a treasure trove of both NeoHellenic and Post Byzantine artwork.
My favorite piece was a painting of the Mother and Child done directly on a wooden platform, which was later covered with hammered silver. When art historians were restoring the piece and the silver was removed, smaller pieces of silver fell out, which had been offerings made over the centuries.
The ‘weird’ ending to the day, was my first taste of Madagascar grey vanilla ice cream. Seriously grey. Good, but not as good as others. Still worth a try.
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