I stood where the smugglers fell, in the waters of Zakynthos
The waves took their ship. I took photos.
It was October 1980, on a windy Thursday.
And Zakynthos Island, the third largest of the Ionian Islands, usually calm and blue, was preparing for a party, the boogie-down party of the year.
But out there on the water, there was a different kind of party happening already.
The chase…
It’s the Greek navy versus a smuggler ship, fire for fire, water for water, blood for blood; it was the battle of the fittest.
A rusted cargo smuggler ship, called MV Panagiotis, was slicing through the ocean waves like a thief in the night (literally). It wasn’t just carrying cargo. It was carrying anything you could call “illegal”: drugs, alcohol, guns, maybe even people, depending on which old man you ask.
The Greek Navy had gotten a tip, probably from a snitch who was ready to get a stitch. And they were hot on the smugglers’ tail.
But the smugglers on board were pros, the best in the game; half of them had experience in the pirate world. They didn’t start smuggling yesterday; they knew the seas well, and the seas knew them.
The navy was no match, and the storm gave them cover. They could not see where they were going, but they pushed the engines harder. In their world, you take risks or die trying.
For hours, the chase continued through the tempest. Then, suddenly, silence. No searchlights cutting through the darkness. No radio chatter. They might have escaped.
The crew members gave themselves jubilant high-fives.
“I told y’all it was fine. I’ve been doing this for 40 years.”, the captain started bragging.
“I once dived under a ship that was getting searched by a coast guard, lifted it on my head, poured the coast guard goons in the ocean, and carried the ship 400 kilometres to the shores of Barbados while holding my breath. No one can catch me, I’m the wind itself”, said the captain.
When the sea decides…
Then it seemed the sea heard what the captain said, and told the wind, and together they formed the waves.
In what some locals call “the aggression of the sea”, the waves suddenly crashed like hammers against the ship.
Visibility? Still Zero. The crew could barely see two meters ahead. The captain tried hugging the coastline, hoping to find a hidden cove to wait out the storm.
But… the waves hit from the other side. And the other side. And the other side. And the other side.
After a long natural battle between the great ship and the waves, they crashed. Hard.
Right into the soft white sands of a cove surrounded by steep limestone cliffs. Their ship, Panagiotis, was battered, broken, and stuck. It was like the island itself had reached out and said, “Enough of this nonsense. You don’t get to run anymore”.
The aftermath…
The crew scattered. Some say they ran into the hills. Others say they drowned. Some even said they consulted the Greek goddess and disappeared into thin air.
The Navy arrived soon after and found the wreck, but most of the contraband was gone. And the rest? Just floating near the shore.
For weeks afterwards, Zakynthos fell unusually quiet. And every new tourist in town was a suspected shipwreck survivor, or worse, the captain.
The ship was never moved. They just left it there. And over time, the salty water and sun bleached it into something between a skeleton and a monument. The cove got a new name: Navagio, which literally means “Shipwreck”.
But tourists call it Shipwreck Beach now.
Welcome to Zakynthos - Greece…
And that story up there is one of the most interesting new things I learned on my visit there. Told by Kostas, the tour guide. At some point, I had to stop him and ask, “Were you one of the smugglers? How did you know? 👀”.
And while I stood there staring at the original wreck, I listened closely as the wind howled through the cliffs, and I just could hear the ghost of a smuggler laughing at how famous their failure became. So famous that a legend like me graced the scene 😇
But I snapped out of it, because I’m here to enjoy life, not listen to ghosts laugh.
We spent about a week in Zakynthos, one for the books, even though getting in and out of the island was an adventure itself.
I mean, it’s a small island, and it appears you have to fly from one place in Europe (or Schengen) because they don’t have immigration there.
The plane was so small, with about as much legroom as Desi’s toy plane.
And I'm pretty sure the pilot drank something strong before take off, as he just kept going up down up down up down like Jangilova.
Getting out was even worse; the plane was smaller, and the pilot probably drank something stronger.
In a nutshell, with my stay in Zakynthos, I learnt that:
Water is bluer in some places, and Zakynthos is one of those places
The shipwreck story is the most interesting thing about the visit
It’s one of those places you go when you want to escape the chaos of life
It’s too quiet there
It’s a great place to do nothing
People are extremely friendly. They wave at you like they’ve known you since primary school
It’s not the kind of place where you see a luxury car. I mean, driving a Lamborghini there would make you look stupid
They have a tip culture also - it seems it’s a curse in Europe
You need to see the clifftop views once before you die
Sea turtles are the real celebrities
It's relaxing, but probably because "there's nothing else to do"
The Bottom Line
Zakynthos looks incredible on Instagram and delivers exactly what it promises: beautiful water, dramatic cliffs, and that famous shipwreck.
Would I recommend it? Sure, if you're island-hopping and want to tick it off the list. But if you're looking for a place that will make you want to extend your stay indefinitely, maybe not.
To sum up, it’s one of those places you visit once and say, “Yeah… one time is enough time”.
Disclaimer: These observations are purely based on my experience during my one week in Zakynthos (Greece). How you observe a location is very context-dependent. And that's the beauty of travel; it's personal and subjective.