Zakynthos is a place I recognize from stories, rather than my own experience. My mother spent time in Greece in the 80’s, and often speaks about the halcyon days of island hopping before mass tourism began, back when you could have a sleepy village to yourself, or spend a day alone on an empty cove with no more than a paperback book for company. After frenetic summers spent in Mykonos and Santorini, I was convinced this evocative version of Greece no longer existed. But to my delight I found it bang in the middle of the Ionian Sea. The southern part of the island grew into a party-hungry spotlight-stealer, the untamed land in the north has remained refreshingly unchanged; Greece's best-kept secret. A secret that is now well and truly out. #followtheraven #zankynthos