When Shirley Valentine felt that life with her partner had become too routine and predictable, she took herself off to Greece, which she called "the far side of paradise". The Greek island of Zakynthos is now emerging as an unlikely destination for Brits of a certain age who find the prospect of just another poolside break with their partner too routine or predictable.
For those who seek more than sun alone on their holiday, the homely Peligoni Club on Zakynthos specialises in activity holidays for painters, writers and musicians, tournaments for backgammon players and "holistic" weeks for those in search of something more spiritual.
The Peligoni Club is near the tiny fishing village Agios Nikolaos, on the northern tip of the island, far away from the holidaymaker hordes who are stacked high in the concrete resorts that stretch along the south coast. The "club" is British-owned, run by Vanessa Goldie and is primarily a water-sports centre for family holidays, specialising in sailing and windsurfing. "We set up in this part of the island as it has the best winds for sailing," said Vanessa.
Although the sea in that part of the island may offer unparalleled sailing opportunities, the landscape itself is less accommodating. What soft and sandy beaches there are to be found on Zakynthos are invariably in the south, while the Peligoni clubhouse clings to a rocky and rather unrelenting coastline.
Whether it is the family sailing holidays that dominate peak season or the assorted week-long courses in the spring and autumn, most guests book via the Peligoni office to stay in either basic privately owned villas in the area, some with pools, or a nearby family-run hotel, also with a pool, which has modest yet serviceable rooms. For those staying at the hotel, the club runs a minibus ferry for the few kilometres up the coast to the clubhouse, where the bulk of the action takes place. There, lunch and dinner are served al fresco and the food, which is included, is especially good. The menu changes daily and tends to be a generous blend of Greek and international cuisine using fresh local produce - and you'd be hard-pushed to find fresher yoghurt or a sweeter and stickier baklava on the island. The clubhouse also has a bar, a small but unexpectedly lush garden and a tennis court. At the front, sunbathing platforms overlook the enthusiastic swimmers and sailors playing upon the alluring azure waters.
Peligoni's activity holidays are held in the spring and autumn, since that is when the Zakynthos sun is less harsh. The club runs two painting courses then: Spring Flower Painting and Watercolour Painting. In most cases, the tutors for Peligoni's various classes are imported from Britain.
"It's very much a holiday, not a course," said Vanessa. "It's meant to be fun. We have good artists on hand to offer advice and teach new styles and plenty of different locations and views for the painters to soak up."
Much to the amusement of the locals, clusters of Peligoni painters are always popping up in the unlikeliest places - up country lanes painting silver-green olive groves or dotted around a bay dashing off their seascapes. Both are timeless views. In fact, the chances are that neither has changed much over the centuries on this slab of ancient Greece.
Exploring the northern tip of Zakynthos, you quickly get the feeling that time may have been relentlessly marching on in the rest of the world, but here it has been taking a leisurely stroll. "We only got electricity on the island 10 years ago," Vanessa told me. "And it took a further nine for us to get a telephone!" Still, with the arrival of such technological advances, Peligoni has been able to step up its activity weeks and, after painting, the next most popular courses offered are the holistic Elysian holidays. These take their name from Greek mythology, the word Elysium referring here to "a state or place of perfect bliss" and first and foremost Elysian weeks are about unwinding and learning how to relax. Head and body massages are available, taken outside within earshot of softly crashing waves and the song of an excitable sparrow, along with daily meditation, pilates and yoga sessions. There are also classes casually exploring "inner harmony" and "self-empowerment".
"They are not only about developing the spiritual side, but also general fitness," said Vanessa. "Some people come on Elysian holidays and aren't interested in doing too much of either, they just want to pop in for the odd session and then chill out most of the week, or try their hand at sailing or windsurfing in the afternoons. If there are any rules on the Elysian weeks, it is that there are no rules. The best way to enjoy them is to treat the whole thing as a house party with like-minded souls. It's a very individual holiday and we can tailor it further to whatever you want."
Other week-long courses at Peligoni include creative writing, music and singing, salsa dancing, backgammon and fitness and movement. Whichever course you find yourself on, most group sessions are held in the morning to leave the afternoons clear for swimming, sailing or the odd snooze. There are several local excursions, too, starting with late afternoon flora and fauna walks on which Vanessa informatively guides her groups through the wilderness.
You stroll through olive groves in little valleys - Zakynthos is famous for its olive oil rather than its olives - and pungent wild species of asparagus, fennel and spearmint as well as thyme and myrtle. The hour-long walk ends with a welcome glass of wine or beer, high on a cliff-top, which affords the most spectacular view of the setting sun glowing red over a calm, twinkling sea. It's definitely an Elysian moment.
A trip to Sulphur Bay, only a few kilometres along the coast from the Peligoni Club, promises a cure for rheumatism and arthritis - but at a price. This small, shingled bay is next to a natural sulphur spring, and while its cloudy sulphur-infused water is said to have miraculous cure-all properties, there is no mistaking the fact that it smells of classic schoolboy stink bombs. A swim in the water, which is unexpectedly hot and cold in patches, does certainly leave the skin reinvigorated.
Boat trips to the Blue Caves depart in the morning outside the clubhouse and call first at Shipwreck Bay, the unlikeliest tourist attraction on the island. This is a rusting metal hull which has been stranded and rotting on the beach since 1986. It was said to have been owned by present-day pirates - cigarette and booze smugglers - who were arrested by police lying in wait as their vast boat ran aground and ripped apart. Legend also has it that all the locals were arrested, too, as they enthusiastically showed up to salvage the cargo.
More natural, and more surreal still, are the Blue Caves where the reflective light plays tricks with the water and anyone swimming there appears to wear a blue body halo.
For those who can summon the energy to fit in a more ambitious daytrip, you might even take the massive ferry which rolls silently into and out of Agios Nikolaos, dwarfing it each time. The ferry whisks daily coach-loads of tourists from the south who are making the pilgrimage to the region's one rare brush with Hollywood - the neighbouring island of Cephallonia, the setting for Captain Corelli's Mandolin, the second world war love story by Louis de Bernières.
Way to go
Getting there: Cheapflights.com currently offers flights to Zakynthos from £99pp return.
Activity holidays: The following week-long Peligoni Club courses can be booked this year with Tarific Holidays (01243 511499, brochure line 01243 513661): Watercolour Painting September 4-18; Elysian Holidays September 4-25; Singing, Drumming & Dance September 4-11; Health, Fitness & Movement September 11-25; and Creative Writing September 18-25. All the holidays cost between £395 and £495 (excluding flights). Prices include food, accommodation, group activities, yoga, walks, watersports with instruction and tennis. Watercolour painting also includes drawing boards and stools. See also peligoni.com.
Further information: The Greek National Tourist Organisation, 4 Conduit Street, London W1S 2DJ (020-7495 9300, gnto.gr).
Country code: 00 30.
Time difference: +2hrs.
Flight time Stansted-Zakynthos: 2hrs.
£1 = 1.37 euros.
