Eastern Europe and the Ae gean - Clean Breaks: 500 New Ways to See the World - page 110

night at one of the many shelters
found along the nine official park
trails, several of which lead out
from Marelisi - there are no
cooking facilities but each has a
fireplace should it get cold. And
you can always warm yourself
a little further with a bottle of
the local vintage: Georgia claims
to be the oldest wine-producing
region in the world (it's been made
here since around 7000 BC) and
there are plenty of excellent local
varieties to sip on as you watch
the sun sink over the pines at the
end of the day.

to view the turtles or explore the
countryside by jeep or on foot, with
or without a guide. Both the island
of Kephallonia and the site of
Olympia are short ferry rides away.
Accommodation is in a range of
locally owned traditional villas
and apartments, refitted with solar
panels. For a family there's Sula, a
stone cottage with exposed beams
that's a short walk from the beach.
Those seeking a bit of isolation
- and the chance to work off dinner
- can hide away at Ziva, a thirty-minute walk from
the beach atop a forested hill with great views.
Olive groves and fruit trees line the gardens and
provide ingredients for the meals.
Volunteering opportunities are also available
throughout the summer, helping to clean up
litter that threatens the turtles' welfare or
monitor the beaches during the nights of nesting
season - the only way you'll get to take a moonlit
stroll along Gerakas's empty shore.

Need to know The train from Tbilisi to Poti/Batumi
stops in Marelisi (2.5hr approx). The guesthouse
has four double rooms (US$8 a night, dinner
US$5). Trails are open from April to October and
the rhododendrons flower in April and May. W www.
borjomi-kharagauli-np.ge; T [phone].

141 TURTLE POWER IN
ZAKYNTHOS, GREEcE

There's no point getting up early to bag a
deckchair on Gerakas beach in southern
Zakynthos. No-one is allowed onto the beach
before the sun rises. Also, there are no deckchairs.
Not a typical Greek beach then. The reason for
this is that loggerhead turtles come here to lay
their eggs: too many lights would disorientate
their nocturnal arrival, so the beach is off-limits
to tourists from dusk until dawn. And deckchairs
would churn up the nesting sites, destroying the
eggs - so they're banned.
With resort facilities absent, tourism here
is designed to complement the natural beauty
of the surroundings. Ionian Eco Holidays, run
by Iannis Vardakastanis, one of the leading
environmentalists in the area, encourages guests
to learn more about the delicate environment
of Zakynthos. Visitors can take catamaran trips

Beach at Gerakas; loggerhead
turtle

Need to know A bus goes every day from Athens
to Kylini (4hr) where a ferry connects to Zakynthos
(1hr; W www.ferries.gr). Accommodation is available
from May to October for one- or two-week stays.
For prices, booking and information on volunteering
see W www.relaxing-holidays.com.